This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Survivors of traumatic brain injury often have lasting neurobehavioral problems that are usually attributed to the neurological injury. Adult-onset hypopituitarism is also associated with neurobehavioral impairment that can be alleviated by hormone replacement. Post-traumatic hypopituitarism has been reported, but systematic studies addressing this issue have never been performed. It is the primary hypothesis of this study that many survivors of head injury suffer from unrecognized hormone dysfunction. Untreated, such deficiencies may compound the effects of the initial brain insult and preclude maximal brain recovery in the years following injury.
The specific aims of this project are to determine: 1) the rate and risk factors for acute secondary adrenal insufficiency after moderate and severe head injury; 2) the rate and risk factors of chronic pituitary failure after injury, and 3) the impact of growth hormone replacement in GH deficient patients after injury.
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