Funding Agency:

National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (Grant No. R01 NS38087)

Total Project Period:

8/2/99 - 7/31/08

Total Project Award:

$1,593,730

Principal Investigator:

Patrick M. Kochanek, MD (Department of Critical Care Medicine)

Co-Investigator:

C. Edward Dixon, PhD, Edwin K. Jackson (Department of Pharmacology), Larry W. Jenkins, PhD

Project Summary:

Using an established rat model of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and applying state-of-the-art cerebral microdialysis, MRI, and behavioral methods, we will determine the effects of two overall strategies

1. augmenting adenosine levels,
2. supplementing activation of adenosine receptors, in brain, on both key mechanisms of secondary damage and outcome.

Additionally, we will bridge bench to bedside by using microdialysis to define the participation of adenosine after severe TBI in humans, during the application of contemporary therapies.