2015 NATIONAL CAPITAL AREA TBI RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM, BETHESDA, MD

T. Bogoslovsky, MD, PhD, D. Wilson, PhD, Y. Chen, PhD, D. Hanlon, PhD, J. Gill2, PhD, A. Jeromin, PhD, Y. Gong, MD, K. Kenney, MD, C. Moore, MA, R. Diaz-Arrastia MD, PhD
Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Background Glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP) and microtubule-associated protein tau are described as promising diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, current assays are not sensitive enough to detect low levels of GFAP and tau in plasma.

Single Molecule Array (Simoa) is a novel technology, which employs highly sensitive immunoassays and allows accurate measurements of candidate biomarkers in blood. The digital approach makes use of arrays of femtoliter-sized reaction chambers that can isolate and detect single enzyme molecules and provides a 1000-fold improvement in sensitivity over traditional immunoassays.

Objectives

1. 1) To validate Simoa technology of ultrasensitive assays for biomarkers implicated in mild TBI (mTBI).
   2) To compare tau and GFAP levels in mild and moderate-to-severe TBI (m-sTBI) with healthy controls.