Association of Longitudinal Oral Microbiome Activity and Pediatric Concussion Recovery
Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) results in a constellation of symptoms commonly referred to as a concussion. It is unclear why certain individuals experience persistent symptoms. Given the growing evidence linking the microbiome with cognition and inflammation, we examined whether longitudinal mi...
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MDPI AG
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Microorganisms |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/2/320 |
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| author | Justin Ceasar Deepika Pugalenthi Saravanan Brennen A. Harding Steven D. Hicks |
| author_facet | Justin Ceasar Deepika Pugalenthi Saravanan Brennen A. Harding Steven D. Hicks |
| author_sort | Justin Ceasar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) results in a constellation of symptoms commonly referred to as a concussion. It is unclear why certain individuals experience persistent symptoms. Given the growing evidence linking the microbiome with cognition and inflammation, we examined whether longitudinal microbiome patterns were associated with concussion symptoms. A cohort study of 118 children (aged 7–21 years) was conducted. Symptoms were assessed at three timepoints post-injury (4, 11, and 30 days) using the Post-Concussion Symptom Inventory. Saliva microbial activity was measured at each timepoint using RNA sequencing. A linear mixed model assessed the relationship between microbial activity and symptom burden while controlling for age, sex, and days post-mTBI. The participants’ mean age was 16 (±3) years. The symptom burden decreased across all three timepoints (25 ± 22, 13 ± 17, and 5 ± 12). The longitudinal symptom burden was associated with elevated activity of <i>Lactobacillus</i> (F = 5.47; adj. <i>p</i> = 0.020) and <i>Saccharomyces</i> (F = 6.79; adj. <i>p</i> = 0.020) and reduced activity of <i>Micrococcus</i> (F = 7.94, adj. <i>p</i> = 0.015). These results do not establish a causative relationship, or support the use of microbial measures as a concussion test. Further studies are needed to explore the role of the gut–brain axis in mTBI. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c6c50d8a6e2b43e1a22173c72d53b2d6 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2076-2607 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Microorganisms |
| spelling | doaj-art-c6c50d8a6e2b43e1a22173c72d53b2d62025-08-20T02:45:00ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072025-02-0113232010.3390/microorganisms13020320Association of Longitudinal Oral Microbiome Activity and Pediatric Concussion RecoveryJustin Ceasar0Deepika Pugalenthi Saravanan1Brennen A. Harding2Steven D. Hicks3Department of Internal Medicine, Allegheny General Hospital, 320 E North Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15212, USADepartment of Pediatrics, The Pennsylvania State College of Medicine, 700 HMC Cres Rd, Hershey, PA 17033, USADepartment of Pediatrics, The Pennsylvania State College of Medicine, 700 HMC Cres Rd, Hershey, PA 17033, USADepartment of Pediatrics, The Pennsylvania State College of Medicine, 700 HMC Cres Rd, Hershey, PA 17033, USAMild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) results in a constellation of symptoms commonly referred to as a concussion. It is unclear why certain individuals experience persistent symptoms. Given the growing evidence linking the microbiome with cognition and inflammation, we examined whether longitudinal microbiome patterns were associated with concussion symptoms. A cohort study of 118 children (aged 7–21 years) was conducted. Symptoms were assessed at three timepoints post-injury (4, 11, and 30 days) using the Post-Concussion Symptom Inventory. Saliva microbial activity was measured at each timepoint using RNA sequencing. A linear mixed model assessed the relationship between microbial activity and symptom burden while controlling for age, sex, and days post-mTBI. The participants’ mean age was 16 (±3) years. The symptom burden decreased across all three timepoints (25 ± 22, 13 ± 17, and 5 ± 12). The longitudinal symptom burden was associated with elevated activity of <i>Lactobacillus</i> (F = 5.47; adj. <i>p</i> = 0.020) and <i>Saccharomyces</i> (F = 6.79; adj. <i>p</i> = 0.020) and reduced activity of <i>Micrococcus</i> (F = 7.94, adj. <i>p</i> = 0.015). These results do not establish a causative relationship, or support the use of microbial measures as a concussion test. Further studies are needed to explore the role of the gut–brain axis in mTBI.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/2/320traumatic brain injurymTBIsalivaoral–gut–brain axis |
| spellingShingle | Justin Ceasar Deepika Pugalenthi Saravanan Brennen A. Harding Steven D. Hicks Association of Longitudinal Oral Microbiome Activity and Pediatric Concussion Recovery Microorganisms traumatic brain injury mTBI saliva oral–gut–brain axis |
| title | Association of Longitudinal Oral Microbiome Activity and Pediatric Concussion Recovery |
| title_full | Association of Longitudinal Oral Microbiome Activity and Pediatric Concussion Recovery |
| title_fullStr | Association of Longitudinal Oral Microbiome Activity and Pediatric Concussion Recovery |
| title_full_unstemmed | Association of Longitudinal Oral Microbiome Activity and Pediatric Concussion Recovery |
| title_short | Association of Longitudinal Oral Microbiome Activity and Pediatric Concussion Recovery |
| title_sort | association of longitudinal oral microbiome activity and pediatric concussion recovery |
| topic | traumatic brain injury mTBI saliva oral–gut–brain axis |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/2/320 |
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