Molecular Pathways and Clinical Outcomes in Post-TBI Neurodegeneration: Challenges and Opportunities

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide and remains a growing global health burden. While survival rates following TBI are on the rise, this often leads to long-term comorbidities and increased risk for neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s disease, and dementia. Significant disparities exist in care globally, from limited access to pre- and post-hospital services in low- and middle-income countries, to inequities in rehabilitation for older adults and women in high-income regions.

Recent advances in human iPSC-derived neuronal models, brain organoids, and multi-omics approaches offer promising tools to unravel the molecular and cellular changes promoting neurodegeneration after TBI. Yet, studies leveraging these techniques remain limited, and the precise mechanisms—particularly relating to age, sex, and polytrauma—are incompletely understood.

We invite submissions that address these knowledge gaps by exploring molecular mechanisms, emerging biomarkers, innovative disease models, and new treatment strategies. Manuscripts utilizing AI-driven data integration and modeling are particularly welcome, as these approaches can accelerate both basic discovery and translational application. Reviews, original research, and methodological papers are all encouraged.

Please use common data elements for data acquisition to enhance data sharing and reproducibility.

Keywords: Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Neurodegeneration, Molecular mechanisms, Human iPSC-derived neurons, Artificial intelligence (AI)

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