Blood biomarkers of traumatic brain injury and cognitive impairment in older veterans

OBJECTIVETo determine whether blood-based biomarkers can differentiate older veterans with and without traumatic brain injury (TBI) and cognitive impairment (CogI). METHODSWe enrolled 155 veterans from 2 veteransʼ retirement homes90 without TBI and 65 with TBI history. Participants were further separated into CogI groupscontrols (no TBI, no CogI), n = 60; no TBI with CogI, n = 30; TBI without CogI, n = 30; and TBI with CogI, n = 35. TBI was determined by the Ohio State University TBI Identification Method. CogI was defined as impaired cognitive testing, dementia diagnosis, or use of dementia medication. Blood specimens were enriched for CNS-derived exosomes. Proteins (neurofilament light [NfL], total tau, glial fibrillary acidic protein [GFAP], α-synuclein, β-amyloid 42 [Aβ42], and phosphorylated tau [p-tau]) and cytokines (tumor necrosis factor–α [TNF-α], interleukin-6 [IL-6], and interleukin-10) were measured using ultrasensitive immunoassays. RESULTSVeterans were, on average, 79 years old. In participants with TBI history, 65% had mild TBI; average time from most recent TBI was 37 years. In adjusted analyses, the TBI and CogI groups differed on CNS-enriched exosome concentration of p-tau, NfL, IL-6, TNF-α (all p < 0.05), and GFAP (p = 0.06), but not on Aβ42 or other markers. Adjusted area under the curve (AUC) analyses found that all significantly associated biomarkers combined separated TBI with/without CogI (AUC, 0.85; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.74–0.95) and CogI with/without TBI (AUC, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.77–0.99). CONCLUSIONSIncreased levels of blood-based, CNS-enriched exosomal biomarkers associated with TBI and CogI can be detected even decades after TBI. CLASSIFICATION OF EVIDENCEThis study provides Class II evidence that in veterans with a history of TBI, CNS-enriched exosome concentration of p-tau, NfL, IL-6, and TNF-α are associated with CogI.