Association of Amino Acid Prevalence and Chronic Brain Injury
Condition: Chronic Traumatic Brain Injury
MeSH terms: Brain Injuries; Brain Injuries, Traumatic; Brain Injury, Chronic; Wounds and Injuries
Study type: Observational

Summary: 
      Years after a suffering a brain injury, individuals remain in a physically and cognitively
      impaired state. The investigators believe that the concentrations of amino acids in the blood
      are chronically altered and yield negative effects on the individuals health. Preliminary
      data has shown significantly lower concentrations of amino acids in serum samples from the
      TBI population, these diminished levels of amino acids may be due to changes in the
      microbiome. Understanding these changes will help guide rehabilitative services for this
      population. Individuals with a chronic brain injury will donate samples of blood, oral
      tissue, and fecal matter to be compared to that of non-injured individuals. Genetic
      information from the hosts will be striped and discarded; participant's genetic information
      will not be retained. To better understand changes in the microbiome, any history of
      antibiotics and probiotics will be assessed.
    

Detailed description: 
      The purpose of this study is to evaluate the levels of Amino Acids in adult individuals with
      chronic (> 2 years) traumatic brain injury (TBI) when compared to a non-brain injured cohort
      population.

      Preliminary data from an assay of amino acids in individuals with chronic TBI compared to an
      assay of individuals without a TBI revealed significantly lower concentrations of amino acids
      within the TBI group.

      The composition and structure of the oral and fecal microbiome will be determined by 16S rDNA
      sequencing. Taxonomic and community structure profiles will be treated as outcome variables
      and modeled together with the participant's plasma amino acid concentration, years
      post-injury, age, sex and other variables to determine correlations. These correlations may
      improve our understanding of the diminished amino acid metabolism within the chronic TBI
      population.

      The endpoint will identify the microbiome structure and composition by 16S rRNA gene
      sequencing within the TBI and healthy participants and to assess the participant's amino acid
      concentrations and other participant demographics and phenotypic characteristics (years
      post-injury, age, sex). This comparison may improve our understanding of the diminished amino
      acid metabolism within the chronic TBI population.
    

Observational model: Case-Control
Time perspective: Cross-Sectional
Sampling method: Non-Probability Sample
Study population: 
        Individuals in the chronic brain injured group are recruited from traumatic brain injury
        rehabilitation facilities. These facilities include Tideway in Galveston, Texas, Centre for
        Neuro Skills in Bakersfield, CA, and Centre for Neuro Skills in Dallas, TX. The cohorts for
        this study will be recruited from the communities surrounding the rehabilitation
        facilities.
      
Biospecimen description: 
      Whole blood, oral tissue swab, fecal matter
    
Keywords: Chronic Brain Injury; Traumatic brain injury (TBI); Amino Acids; Microbiome