Assistant professor Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, Virginia
Abstract Text: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a common phenomenon that generates significant cost and both acute and long-term adverse health effects. While various morbidities have been associated with diffuse pathological changes following TBI, knowledge of these pathologies, particularly regarding how opioid analgesics affect these pathologies, is lacking. To begin assessing potential analgesic-associated alterations to diffuse pathologies, we utilized the central fluid percussion injury (CFPI) model of mild TBI in adult male rats. We administered buprenorphine-sustained release-Lab (Bup-SR-Lab) 15 min following injury subcutaneously. Animals were survived for 1d and 4w post-injury. Neuropathology, neuroinflammation, physiology, behavioral changes, and myelin alterations were assessed at these terminal time points. We found that while Bup-SR-Lab administration did not appear to affect neuropathology, physiology, or somatosensory hypersensitivity, it was associated with region-specific morphological changes to microglia and astrocytes at both the acute and longer-term time points. These studies indicate that opioids could impact TBI-induced glial responses that require further investigation.
