Salutary Effects of Estrogen Sulfate for Traumatic Brain Injury

Estrogen plays an important role as a neuroprotector in the central nervous system (CNS), directly interacting with neurons and regulating physiological properties of non-neuronal cells. Here we evaluated estrogen sulfate (E2-SO4) for traumatic brain injury (TBI) using a Sprague-Dawley rat model. TBI was induced via lateral fluid percussion (LFP) at 24 h after craniectomy. E2-SO4 (1 mg/kg BW in 1 mL/kg BW) or saline (served as control) was intravenously administered at 1 h after TBI (n=5/group). Intracranial pressure (ICP), cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP), and partial brain oxygen pressure (pbtO2) were measured for 2 h (from 23 to 25 h after E2-SO4 injection). Brain edema and diffuse axonal injury (DAI) were assessed by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and cerebral glycolysis was measured by (18)F-labeled fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) imaging, at 1 and 7 days after E2-SO4 injection. E2-SO4 significantly decreased ICP, while increasing CPP and pbtO2 (p0.05). These findings demonstrated the potential benefits of E2-SO4 in TBI.