Classifying TBI as Mild, Moderate or Severe is Outdated and Counterproductive
The August issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) includes a “Viewpoint” by two leading neuroscientists promoting the use of an “International Knowledge-Based Approach” to traumatic brain injury (TBI).
One of the causes of the failure of clinical trials to successfully treat TBI, the authors contend, is the common classification of TBIs as “mild, moderate or severe.” These classifications do not incorporate newer insights and findings from diagnostic tools such as imaging and biomarkers and therefore do not promote “mechanistic targeting” for clinical trials. The authors support the transition to a more nuanced approach, a precise disease classification model that is based on the precise pathoanatomical and molecular features of the injury. Read More