A review of glutamate's role in traumatic brain injury mechanisms

摘要: Glutamate is the primary excitatory neurotransmitter used by the central nervous system (CNS) for synaptic communication, and its extracellular concentration is tightly regulated by glutamate transporters located on nearby astrocytes. Both animal models and human clinical studies have demonstrated elevated glutamate levels immediately following a traumatic brain event, with the duration and severity of the rise corresponding to prognosis. This rise in extracellular glutamate likely results from a combination of excessive neurotransmitter release from damaged neurons and down regulation of uptake mechanisms in local astrocytes. The immediate results of a traumatic event can lead to necrotic tissue in severely injured regions, while prolonged increases in excitatory transmission can cause secondary excitotoxic injury through activation of delayed apoptotic pathways. Initial TBI animal studies utilized a variety of …