# Characterize the extent, distribution and range of pathologies contributing to TReND in cTBI patients and CTE-NC in participating brain banks

> **NIH NIH U54** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2021 · $162,888

## Abstract

Research Project 1
SUMMARY
There is growing concern over the association between traumatic brain injury (TBI) and progressive
neurodegenerative changes, in particular those that are characterized as chronic traumatic encephalopathy
(CTE). First recognized in boxers, it was not until descriptions of CTE pathology in non-boxer athletes attracted
widespread attention. However, reflecting the paucity of cases described, current consensus criteria for the
neuropathological assessment of CTE remain preliminary, with the associated clinical consequences of this
pathology unclear. Furthermore, the narrow focus on CTE and its characteristic tau pathologies has come at
the cost of characterizing many other neuropathologies that have also been observed in CTE cases and in all
forms of TBI. Current reporting in CTE largely focuses on p-tau pathologies, which are thought to define its
pathognomonic neuropathology. However, rather than a single proteinopathy, wider, unbiased autopsy reporting
of TBI related neurodegeneration (TReND) in chronic TBI (cTBI) survivors across a full spectrum of injury
severities documents far more varied complex neuropathologies. Furthermore, the pathologies encountered in
cTBI patients often are mixed, with multiple proteinopathies, particularly in aged patients. As such, there is
growing recognition that TReND in TBI survivors is a complex polypathology, just one element of which might
be described by current definitions of CTE. We propose to characterize the extent, distribution and range of
pathologies contributing to TReND in cTBI patients across a spectrum TBI types and severities. In addition, we
will develop and validate operational criteria for the neuropathological diagnosis of TReND pathologies using
established protocols that have proven successful for wider neurodegenerative disease.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10241894
- **Project number:** 5U54NS115322-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Douglas Hamilton Smith
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $162,888
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-09-30 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10241894

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10241894, Characterize the extent, distribution and range of pathologies contributing to TReND in cTBI patients and CTE-NC in participating brain banks (5U54NS115322-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10241894. Licensed CC0.

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