Open AccessA single dose of valproic acid improves neurologic recovery and decreases brain lesion size in swine subjected to an isolated traumatic brain injury
Author(s) -
Glenn K. Wakam,
Ben E. Biesterveld,
Manjunath P. Pai,
Michael T. Kemp,
Rachel O’Connell,
Krishani Rajanayake,
Kiril Chtraklin,
Claire A. Vercruysse,
Hasan B. Alam
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
the journal of trauma and acute care surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.25
H-Index - 187
eISSN - 2163-0763
pISSN - 2163-0755
DOI - 10.1097/ta.0000000000003136
Subject(s) - valproic acid , traumatic brain injury , medicine , lesion , pharmacokinetics , placebo , anesthesia , saline , clinical trial , brain damage , surgery , pathology , epilepsy , alternative medicine , psychiatry
We lack specific treatments for traumatic brain injury (TBI), which remains the leading cause of trauma-related morbidity and mortality. Treatment with valproic acid (VPA) improves outcomes in models of severe TBI with concurrent hemorrhage. However, it is unknown if VPA will have similar benefits after isolated nonlethal TBI, which is the more common clinical scenario. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of VPA treatment in a preclinical isolated TBI swine model on neurologic outcomes and brain lesion size and to perform detailed pharmacokinetic analyses for a future clinical trial.