Increased adrenomedullin in cerebrospinal fluid after traumatic brain injury in infants and children

Adrenomedullin is a recently discovered 52-amino acid peptide that is a potent vasodilator and is produced in the brain in experimental models of cerebral ischemia. Infusion of adrenomedullin increases regional cerebral blood flow and reduces infarct volume after vascular occlusion in rats, and thus may represent an endogenous neuroprotectant. Disturbances in cerebral blood flow (CBF), including hypoperfusion and hyperemia, frequently occur after severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) in infants and children. We hypothesized that cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) adrenomedullin concentration would be increased after severe TBI in infants and children, and that increases in adrenomedullin would be associated with alterations in CBF. We also investigated whether posttraumatic CSF adrenomedullin concentration was associated with relevant clinical variables (CBF, age, Glasgow Coma Scale [GCS] score, mechanism of injury, and outcome). Total adrenomedullin concentration was measured using a radioimmunometric assay. Sixty-six samples of ventricular CSF from 21 pediatric patients were collected during the first 10 days after severe TBI (GCS score < 8). Control CSF was obtained from children (n = 10) undergoing lumbar puncture without TBI or meningitis. Patients received standard neurointensive care, including CSF drainage. CBF was measured using Xenon computed tomography (CT) in 11 of 21 patients. Adrenomedullin concentration was markedly increased in CSF of infants and children after severe TBI vs control (median 4.5 versus 1.0 fmol/mL, p < 0.05). Sixty-two of 66 CSF samples (93.9%) from head-injured infants and children had a total adrenomedullin concentration that was greater than the median value for controls. Increases in CSF adrenomedullin were most commonly observed early after TBI. CBF was positively correlated with CSF adrenomedullin concentration (p < 0.001), but this relationship was not significant when controlling for the effect of time. CSF adrenomedullin was not significantly associated with other selected clinical variables. We conclude adrenomedullin is markedly increased in the CSF of infants and children early after severe TBI. We speculate that adrenomedullin participates in the regulation of CBF after severe TBI.