TRACK-TBI Longitudinal Biomarker Study (TRACK-BIO)

Transforming Research and Clinical Knowledge in Traumatic Brain Injury (TRACK-TBI)- a Longitudinal Biomarker Study

The overarching goal of this study is to improve understanding of the long-range natural history of TBI by extending follow-up of a previously enrolled cohort (TRACK-TBI) beyond the first 12 months after injury.

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: Traumatic Brain Injury
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Telephone Outcome Assessment; Behavioral: In-Person Outcome Assessment; Procedure: 3T Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI); Procedure: Blood Draw

Detailed Description

This longitudinal observational study is part of the Transforming Research and Clinical Knowledge in Traumatic Brain Injury (TRACK-TBI) initiative, a multi-institutional project designed to characterize the acute and longer-term clinical, neuroimaging, and blood biomarker features of TBI. TRACK-TBI enrolled TBI patients at 18 Level 1 Trauma Centers in the US, across the age and injury spectrum. This study will extend the follow-up period for TRACK-TBI participants. The extensive clinical, imaging, and biomarker data that has already been collected in these TRACK-TBI participants, in combination with the extended longitudinal data, will allow for the identification of risk factors, co-morbidities, and prognostic biomarkers of TBI. Consequently, the extension of study follow-up will help to determine negative neurological and psychological outcomes of individuals who experienced a TBI compared to healthy and orthopedic controls.

TBI is a complex disease process, in which diverse injury subtypes and multiple molecular mechanisms overlap. There is a need to identify and measure these subtypes, in order to develop precision medicine approaches where specific pathobiological processes are targeted by mechanistically appropriate therapies. The absence of validated biomarkers in the neurotrauma field is a barrier to drug development in this area, and there are currently no disease-modifying therapies that limit the burden of TBI. Biomarkers specific for injury mechanisms should be identified to select participants for clinical trials of targeted therapies (prognostic biomarkers), as well as to confirm target engagement and biological efficacy (pharmacodynamic biomarkers).

Traumatic axonal injury (TAI) is a common pathologic consequence of TBI, and underlies some of the most disabling consequences of injury, including cognitive and affective problems. TAI progresses for years after injury in a subset of patients, and is a key mechanism for long-term neurodegeneration after TBI. Recent breakthroughs in pre-clinical models indicate that novel therapeutic interventions, including strategies such as targeting the mitochondrial transition pore, or promoting axonal maintenance factors are effective in promoting resilience of injured axons and improving neurologic outcome after experimental TBI. Translation of such promising therapies into clinical trials will require prognostic biomarkers that can measure TAI in individual patients, so they can be selected for early phase studies of axon-protective therapies, as well pharmacodynamic biomarkers than can measure the biologic efficacy of such treatments. Currently, the best biomarker for TAI is fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) of white matter tracts, measured using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) MRI. This technique, while robust, is poorly suited for dynamic longitudinal assessments, and measures the end-result of axonal degeneration, rather than an early step in the neurodegenerative process. Recently, the ability to assay axonal proteins in peripheral blood has made it potentially feasible to assess of TAI rapidly, inexpensively, and longitudinally. The axonal protein that holds the most promise as a biomarker of axonal degeneration is neurofilament light chain (NF-L). This project aims to address the gaps in the existing literature regarding specific biomarkers for injury mechanisms and outcomes following TBI. Furthermore, it is likely that a sophisticated understanding of the subtypes and molecular mechanisms of TBI will be required to successfully develop therapies to treat these subtypes.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Estimated): 300

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • San Francisco, California, United States, 94110
      • University of California, San Francisco
  • Massachusetts
    • Charlestown, Massachusetts, United States, 02129
      • Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital
  • Ohio
    • Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, 45267
      • University of Cincinnati
  • Pennsylvania
    • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19104
      • University of Pennsylvania/Penn Presbyterian Medical Center
    • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15213
      • University of Pittsburgh
  • Texas
    • Austin, Texas, United States, 78712
      • University of Texas at Austin
    • Dallas, Texas, United States, 75390
      • University of Texas Southwestern
    • Houston, Texas, United States, 77030
      • Baylor College of Medicine
  • Utah
    • Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, 84132
      • University of Utah
  • Virginia
    • Richmond, Virginia, United States, 23298
      • Virginia Commonwealth University
  • Washington
    • Seattle, Washington, United States, 98104
      • University of Washington

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 1 second and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Participants enrolled in TRACK-TBI

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• LONGITUDINAL Telephone Assessment:
• Participated in TRACK-TBI,
• At least two years post injury, and
• Completed at least 1 GOSE during the TRACK-TBI follow-up assessments
• LONGITUDINAL BIOMARKER In-Person Assessment:

Must complete at least one Longitudinal Telephone Assessment and fall into one of the following groups:

• Group 1- Completed TRACK-TBI 6M MRI and are stable or improved with regard to Criteria for Establishing Decline
• Group 2- Criteria for Establishing Decline met when comparing the Telephone Assessments to the last completed TRACK-TBI assessment
• Group 3- All TRACK-TBI orthopedic controls

Ability of participant or legally authorized representative to provide informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• Dementia diagnosed prior to the index TBI

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

3

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Telephone Assessment Battery; TRACK-TBI participants may complete up to three annual telephone calls to assess outcome status. These assessments will determine eligibility for the in-person study visit.	Behavioral: Telephone Outcome Assessment; Assessments will be administered over the telephone to evaluate participant outcome status
Comprehensive Assessment Battery (CAB); Participants who demonstrate decision-making capacity will be asked to complete the Comprehensive Assessment Battery (CAB). The CAB in-person is comprised of measures of cognition (i.e. attention, memory, information processing speed, executive functions), mood (i.e., depression, anxiety), social participation, subjective well-being, post-traumatic stress, interviews, global functional status measures, and a COVID-19 questionnaire.	Behavioral: Telephone Outcome Assessment; Assessments will be administered over the telephone to evaluate participant outcome status; Behavioral: In-Person Outcome Assessment; Assessments will be administered to evaluate participant outcome status; Procedure: 3T Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI); Participants will be asked to complete a 3T MRI; Procedure: Blood Draw; Blood Draw for Plasma, DNA, Serum, RNA
Abbreviated Assessment Battery (AAB); Participants who do not have decision-making capacity will be asked to complete a modified assessment battery, called the Abbreviated Assessment Battery (AAB). The AAB in-person assessment will administer the Speech Intelligibility, GOAT, and CAP and/or CRS-R to study participants.	Behavioral: Telephone Outcome Assessment; Assessments will be administered over the telephone to evaluate participant outcome status; Behavioral: In-Person Outcome Assessment; Assessments will be administered to evaluate participant outcome status; Procedure: 3T Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI); Participants will be asked to complete a 3T MRI; Procedure: Blood Draw; Blood Draw for Plasma, DNA, Serum, RNA

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Glasgow Outcome Scale Extended (GOSE)	The GOSE provides an overall measure of functional status based on information on cognition, independence, employability, and social/community participation collected via structured interview. Individuals are described by one of the eight outcome categories: Dead (1); Vegetative State (2); Lower Severe Disability (3); Upper Severe Disability (4); Lower Moderate Disability (5); Upper Moderate Disability (6); Lower Good Recovery (7) and Upper Good Recovery (8). Good Recovery is defined as a score of 7-8, Moderate Disability is defined by a score of 5-6 and Severe Disability is defined by a score of 3-4.	~4-6 years post-injury

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Serum NF-L (neurofilament light chain)	Using advanced blood-based assay platforms, levels of blood biomarkers neurofilament light chain (NF-L) will be measured to validate the utility as a biomarkers for traumatic axonal injury (TAI).	~4-6 years post-injury

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Pennsylvania
• Collaborators: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS); National Football League
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Ramon Diaz-Arrastia, MD, PhD, University of Pennsylvania

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): March 1, 2022
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): February 28, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 7, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 7, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): January 21, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 29, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 28, 2026
• Last Verified: May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Wounds and Injuries; Craniocerebral Trauma; Trauma, Nervous System; Brain Injuries; Brain Injuries, Traumatic; Investigative Techniques; Specimen Handling; Clinical Laboratory Techniques; Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures; Diagnosis; Punctures; Surgical Procedures, Operative; Blood Specimen Collection
• Other Study ID Numbers: 834982; U01NS114140 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No