Blood–brain barrier damage following mild traumatic brain injury

The blood–brain barrier (BBB) is an intricately linked cellular and extracellular unit that works to maintain the homeostasis of the brain’s microenvironment. The BBB tightly regulates the passage of molecules, including chemotherapeutic drugs, into and out of the brain parenchyma. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) alters the brain architecture and function; the BBB components are individually and collectively damaged. The recovery following TBI exhibits a time course of neurorehabilitative improvement. The goal of this chapter is to introduce the various facets of the BBB, how they are damaged during TBI, and to interrogate data from pre-clinical models to determine the extent to which the BBB components can be harnessed for the efficient therapy of TBI.