Traumatic Brain Injury

A traumatic brain injury, or TBI, occurs when a bump, blow, jolt, or penetrating injury disrupts normal brain function. TBI ranges from mild concussion to severe injury. Symptoms may appear immediately or develop over hours or days, and recovery can look very different from one person to another. A TBI can affect thinking, memory, balance, movement, mood, sleep, vision, or speech. Some people improve steadily with time and rehabilitation. Others have persistent symptoms that affect work, relationships, and daily independence.

Common Symptoms

Emergency symptoms after a head injury can include worsening headache, repeated vomiting, seizure, increasing confusion, unequal pupils, weakness, or loss of consciousness. These symptoms require urgent medical evaluation.

Treatment depends on the severity and timing of the injury, the areas of the brain involved, and a person’s symptoms and overall health. Early care focuses on preventing further injury and managing complications. Rehabilitation focuses on restoring function and supporting daily life.

Standard Treatment Categories

• Emergency and critical care: Stabilizing breathing, blood pressure, oxygen delivery, bleeding, and intracranial pressure when needed.
• Medication and symptom management: Treating seizures, pain, sleep problems, mood symptoms, spasticity, or other complications when appropriate.
• Rehabilitation: Physical, occupational, speech-language, cognitive, behavioral, and vocational therapies tailored to the person’s needs.
• Ongoing follow-up: Monitoring recovery, mental health, return to work or school, and treatment of persistent symptoms.

Stem cell therapy for traumatic brain injury is an area of early research. Scientists are studying several cell-based approaches, including mesenchymal stromal cells and bone marrow-derived cells, to better understand their possible effects on inflammation and the environment around injured brain tissue.

What Researchers Are Studying

• Influence inflammatory and immune-system signaling
• Affect blood-vessel function and the environment around injured brain tissue
• Be delivered safely and feasibly in carefully selected patients
• Be further evaluated for their effects on motor, cognitive, and functional recovery

Cells release proteins and other signaling molecules that researchers are studying for their possible effects after brain injury. These biological properties are one reason stem cell therapy for TBI continues to be investigated as a potential regenerative approach.

Note: Stem cell therapies for traumatic brain injury are not FDA-approved and are investigational. Studies have reported encouraging safety findings and functional changes in selected groups, and research continues across different cell products and delivery methods.

How Stem Cell Therapy for TBI Is Being Studied

Human studies have evaluated several different approaches, including intravenous infusion of a person’s own bone marrow cells, lumbar or intrathecal delivery of umbilical-cord-derived cells, and surgical implantation of modified cells into the brain. Researchers are studying people with different injury severity, time since injury, cell sources, manufacturing methods, doses, delivery routes, rehabilitation plans, and outcome measures. This work is helping identify the approaches and patient groups that warrant continued clinical study.

2024: Wharton’s Jelly MSC Therapy Reported Functional and Cognitive Improvements

Safety and Efficiency of Wharton’s Jelly-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell Administration in Patients With Traumatic Brain Injury: First Results of a Phase I Study — Read Study

This prospective, single-center phase I study included six adults ages 21 to 27 with chronic TBI-related impairments. Participants received six treatment rounds over four months using intrathecal, intramuscular, and intravenous Wharton’s Jelly-derived mesenchymal stromal cells. The authors reported that treatment was well tolerated during one year of follow-up, and before-and-after scores for spasticity, muscle strength, function, cognition, and performance were reported to improve. These findings support continued research on multi-route Wharton’s Jelly MSC administration for people with chronic TBI-related impairments.

2024: Modified MSC Implants Reported Motor and Daily-Function Improvements

Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Implants for Chronic Motor Deficits After Traumatic Brain Injury: Post Hoc Analysis of a Randomized Trial — Read Study

This post hoc 48-week analysis reported results from a multicenter, double-blind, sham-controlled phase II trial in adults with chronic motor deficits at least 12 months after moderate-to-severe TBI. Sixty-three people were randomized, and 61 underwent surgery. At 24 weeks, Fugl-Meyer Motor Scale scores improved by 8.3 points in the treated group and 2.3 points in the control group. At 48 weeks, the treated group continued to show improvement in motor scores, function, and activities of daily living. These results add to research on surgically implanted, modified MSC products for chronic motor deficits after TBI.

2017: Bone Marrow Cell Therapy Reported Feasibility and Favorable Safety Findings in Severe Adult TBI

Treatment of Severe Adult Traumatic Brain Injury Using Bone Marrow Mononuclear Cells — Read Study

This open-label phase I/IIa study included 25 adults ages 18 to 55 with severe TBI. Participants underwent bone marrow harvest, processing, and intravenous reinfusion within 48 hours of injury. The study reported that the treatment approach was feasible and well tolerated. Imaging and inflammatory biomarker findings also identified potential areas for continued research, helping inform later-phase research on bone marrow cell therapy after severe TBI.

2013: Umbilical Cord MSCs Reported Better Neurological and Functional Scores

Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation Significantly Improves Neurological Function in Patients With Sequelae of Traumatic Brain Injury — Read Study

This randomized study assigned 40 adults with persistent effects of TBI to four lumbar-puncture administrations of umbilical cord MSCs or a control group. Participants were evaluated at baseline and six months. At six months, the treatment group had better motor, sensory, balance, and functional-independence scores, while the control group did not show improvement. These findings support continued research on intrathecal umbilical cord MSC administration for persistent TBI-related symptoms.