Traumatic brain injury research

Precision medicine may link the right therapy to the right patient including new approaches to Traumatic brain injury classification beyond the Glasgow coma scale or anatomical phenotyping-incorporating new genetic and physiologic approaches. Therapeutic breakthroughs may also come from alternative approaches in clinical investigation (comparative effectiveness, adaptive clinical trial design, use of the electronic medical record, big data). The full continuum of care must also be represented in translational studies, given the important clinical role of pre-hospital events, extra-cerebral insults in the ICU, and rehabilitation. Traumatic brain injury research from concussion to coma can cross-pollinate and further advancement of new therapies. Misconceptions can stifle/misdirect TBI research and deserve special attention. Finally, Kochanek et al. synthesize an approach to deliver therapeutic breakthroughs in this golden age of TBI research ¹⁾.