Does infliximab attenuate oxidative stress following traumatic brain injury?

Background: Traumatic brain injury is a global health problem. Infliximab is used daily to treat a variety of inflammatory systemic disorders. The goal of this study was to compare the pathological and biochemical changes induced by dexamethasone and infliximab usage in rats with blunt head trauma.

Methods: Thirty-two adult rats were used in our study. Groups of eight animals were used, and those with skin incision without any additional trauma were called sham (Group 1); those with skin incision and head trauma were called control (Group 2); those who received 1 mg/kg intraperitoneal dexamethasone immediately after head trauma were called steroid (Group 3); and those who received 5 mg/kg subcutaneous infliximab immediately after trauma were called infliximab (Group 4). The animals were euthanized seven days after the operation.

Results: Brain tissue malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) values of the four groups were compared and a statistically significant difference was shown. However, no significant difference was observed between the infliximab and dexamethasone groups in terms of tissue MDA, SOD, and GPx concentrations. Pathological sections showed that trauma-induced cortical damage, interstitial edema, and perivascular edema were reduced in the infliximab group.

Conclusion: Infliximab demonstrates comparable neuroprotective effects to dexamethasone in oxidative stress markers, while providing superior efficacy in edema reduction.