# Consider the influence of injury type and survival interval on cTBI neuropathology

> **NIH NIH U54** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2021 · $90,234

## Abstract

Research Project 3
SUMMARY
There is growing concern over the association between exposure to traumatic brain injury (TBI) and increased
risk of a variety of neuropsychiatric and neurocognitive outcomes, in particular those linked to participation in
contact sports. Moreover, compelling epidemiological data indicates severe TBI as an important environmental
risk factor for dementia with best current estimates suggesting that between 5 and 15% of all dementia may be
TBI related. Both historically and currently, TBI-associated dementia has been presumptively subdivided based
on whether it follows a single, moderate or severe TBI or repetitive, mild TBI. However, over the last decade,
autopsy studies have revealed complex and overlapping pathologies in individuals across the spectrum of injury
exposure. Critically, there is also an incomplete understanding of the extent and distribution of TBI related
neurodegeneration (TReND) pathology required to produce neurological dysfunction, the spectrum of symptoms
associated with this pathology, or its relationship with wider neurodegenerative disease. As such, there is a
pressing need to perform unbiased, comprehensive and robust evaluations of the complete spectrum of TReND
pathologies in comparison with patient associated variables and clinical outcomes. We will use comprehensive
datasets of the extensive archive of case material from chronic TBI (~850 existing and the predicted additional
~450 new chronic TBI) and matched controls made possible via this CONNECT-TBI Program. Examining these
unique tissue resources and linked clinical datasets offers an unrivalled opportunity to link comprehensive
outcomes and assessments with neuropathological observations. We propose to 1) examine the influence of
injury variables, and 2) Determine the association between neuropathological burden and antemortem
clinicopathologic presentation of chronic TBI.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10241896
- **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:** $90,234
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-09-30 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10241896

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10241896, Consider the influence of injury type and survival interval on cTBI neuropathology (5U54NS115322-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10241896. Licensed CC0.

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