A review and rationale for the use of genetically engineered animals in the study of traumatic brain injury

The mechanisms underlying secondary cell death after traumatic brain injury (TBI) are poorly understood. Animal models of TBI recapitulate many clinic al and pathologic aspects of human head injury, and the development of gene tically engineered animals has offered the opportunity to investigate the s pecific molecular and cellular mechanisms associated with cell dysfunction and death after TBI, allowing for the evaluation of specific cause-effect r elations and mechanistic hypotheses. This article represents a compendium o f the current literature using genetically engineered mice in studies desig ned to better understand the posttraumatic inflammatory response, the mecha nisms underlying DNA damage, repair, and cell death, and the link between T BI and neurodegenerative diseases.