Pre-Clinical and Clinical Therapies for Traumatic Brain Injury: Where Do We Stand in Pediatrics?

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the leading causes of death and disability in children. There are no Food and Drug Administration-approved therapies to specifically treat pediatric TBI. Compared with adults, there has been limited funding and investigation into age-specific injury patterns and therapies following trauma to the developing brain. This review summarizes therapies on early pathogenic mechanisms of secondary injury, specifically excitotoxicity, mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative injury and neuroinflammation, which have been evaluated in pre-clinical and clinical moderate to severe pediatric TBI studies. We highlight areas in need of further research and suggest future directions for improving the bench-to-bedside translational therapeutic trials following pediatric TBI.