Brain Trauma Blueprint

The Brain Trauma Blueprint is a roadmap to advance precision diagnostics and therapeutics for survivors of brain trauma by outlining research endeavors and fostering collaboration across the broader stakeholder community. One pivotal component of the Blueprint Process is to convene key stakeholders at a State of the Science Summit, which aims to survey the current scientific knowledge, identify knowledge gaps and consider new scientific and clinical models and actionable research priorities that will inform funding efforts and accelerate the development of a new generation of precision diagnostics and targeted therapeutics. By fostering collaboration across the broader stakeholder community, we will enable translational research gaps to be bridged and achieve solutions sooner for those suffering from trauma-related brain disorders.

The need is significant.

• Most people will experience at least one traumatic event in their lifetime.
• Estimates suggest approximately 24.4 million Americans suffer from PTSD.
• An average of 2.8 million Americans will experience a traumatic brain injury every year.
• Recent research suggests that even a single concussive event may cause neurocognitive changes in individuals at any point post-injury.
• The morbidity and mortality of PTSD and chronic neuropsychiatric effects of TBI are further magnified by the substantial disruptions in family, workplace, and societal contexts, all contributing to the enormous clinical, social, and financial burden of ineffectively treated trauma-related brain disorders.

The resolutions are few.

• There is a paucity of therapeutic options for these conditions.
• The developmental pipeline is meager compared with other prevalent CNS disorders.
• There are no objective diagnostics for PTSD or for the chronic neuropsychiatric effects of TBI.
• These disorders also lack validated treatment response and prognostic biomarkers and objective outcome measures.
• This situation is related to, and exacerbated by, the limited understanding of the biological underpinnings of these disorders.

Together, we will empower all stakeholders to be informed and strategic architects through the Translational Science Brain Trauma Blueprint.