Biomarkers for Traumatic Brain Injury

Biomarkers for Traumatic Brain Injury provides a comprehensive overview on the selection and implementation of serum-based and saliva-based biomarkers for traumatic brain injury. The book presents an economic analysis for implementing TBI biomarkers into clinical practice. In addition, it discusses the analytical tools needed to implement TBI biomarkers, including specifications for testing instruments and interpretative software. Neurologists, emergency department physicians, intensivists, and clinical laboratorians will find this book a great resource from which to familiarize themselves with the issues and processes regarding TBI biomarkers.

Approximately 2 million people in the U.S. sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI) each year with over 250,000 hospitalizations and 50,000 deaths. There has been a significant rise in interest in diagnosing mild concussions, particularly in the sports world. While imaging has been the gold standard, these procedures are costly and not always available. There is great potential in using serum-based biomarkers, hence the book seeks to enlighten readers on new possibilities.

• Offers strategies for the selection and implementation of traumatic brain injury biomarkers
• Discusses the importance of autoantibodies and post translational modifications for TBI
• Covers the analytical tools needed to implement TBI biomarkers, including the specifications for testing instruments and interpretative software

Dr. Alan Wu is a Professor of Laboratory Medicine at the University of California at San Francisco. He is the Co-Director of the Core Laboratory at the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. His research is focused on biomarkers of cardiovascular disease, clinical toxicology, and pharmacogenomics. In this capacity, his clinical and research laboratory conducts testing for routine analytes in blood, urine and cerebral spinal fluid for electrolytes, metabolites, hormones, proteins, and biomarkers. His particular area of interest is in cardiac biomarkers for acute cardiac diseases. He received a B.S. in both Chemistry and Biology at Purdue University and a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry at the University of Illinois. He was a professor at the University of Texas and the University of Connecticut prior to his current position at UCSF.

W. Frank Peacock IV, MD, FACEP, FACC is a Professor of Emergency Medicine and Vice Chair for Research in the department of Emergency Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, in Houston, Texas. He has >500 publications, is a two-time winner of the Best Research Paper of the Year Award from the American College of Emergency Physicians, and the 2019 Ray Bahr Award for Excellence from the American College of Cardiology. Finally, he is the founder of Comprehensive Research Associates, LLC, and Emergencies in Medicine, LLC.