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Acute and chronic traumatic encephalopathies: pathogenesis and biomarkers
DeKosky ST, Blennow K, Ikonomovic MD, Gandy S.. Nature reviews. Neurology, 2013-04-01
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Over the past decade, public awareness of the long-term pathological consequences of traumatic brain injury (TBI) has increased. Such awareness has been stimulated mainly by reports of progressive neurological dysfunction in athletes exposed to repetitive concussions in high-impact sports such as boxing and American football, and by the rising number of TBIs in war veterans who are now more likely to survive explosive blasts owing to improved treatment. Moreover, the entity of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)--which is marked by prominent neuropsychiatric features including dementia, parkinsonism, depression, agitation, psychosis, and aggression--has become increasingly recognized as a potential late outcome of repetitive TBI.
Key findings
- Such awareness has been stimulated mainly by reports of progressive neurological dysfunction in athletes exposed to repetitive concussions in high-impact sports such as boxing and American football, and by the rising number of TBIs in war veterans who are now more likely to survive explosive blasts owing to improved treatment.
- Moreover, the entity of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)--which is marked by prominent neuropsychiatric features including dementia, parkinsonism, depression, agitation, psychosis, and aggression--has become increasingly recognized as a potential late outcome of repetitive TBI.
- Annually, about 1% of the population in developed countries experiences a clinically relevant TBI.
- The goal of this Review is to provide an overview of the latest understanding of CTE pathophysiology, and to delineate the key issues that are challenging clinical and research communities, such as accurate quantification of the risk of CTE, and development of reliable biomarkers for single-incident TBI and CTE.
Why it matters
This review discusses the pathogenesis and biomarkers of acute and chronic traumatic encephalopathies, including chronic traumatic encephalopathy marked by features such as dementia. It is a review of a condition linked to repetitive traumatic brain injury and does not test a treatment, cure, or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 45/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Nature reviews. Neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Nature Reviews Neurology: journal h-index 269 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2013 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 270 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 18.0 citations a year over 15 year(s) since 2013 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 4.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 3 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 21 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Sam Gandy: h-index 92 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of Pittsburgh: institution h-index 1,470 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 7 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 23558985) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 45 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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APA 7th
DeKosky, S. T., Blennow, K., Ikonomovic, M. D., & Gandy, S. (2013). Acute and chronic traumatic encephalopathies: pathogenesis and biomarkers. Nature reviews. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneurol.2013.36
Vancouver
DeKosky ST, Blennow K, Ikonomovic MD, Gandy S. Acute and chronic traumatic encephalopathies: pathogenesis and biomarkers. Nature reviews. Neurology. 2013. doi:10.1038/nrneurol.2013.36. PMID: 23558985.
BibTeX
@article{dekosky2013-23558985,
author = {DeKosky, S. T. and Blennow, K. and Ikonomovic, M. D. and Gandy, S.},
title = {{Acute and chronic traumatic encephalopathies: pathogenesis and biomarkers}},
journal = {Nature reviews. Neurology},
year = {2013},
doi = {10.1038/nrneurol.2013.36},
pmid = {23558985},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneurol.2013.36}
}
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