Effect of Exogenous Lactate Infusion on Neurocognitive Function of Patients With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the most common type of brain injury. Post-mild TBI disability could stem from cognitive, physical, psychological and social dysfunction which resulted in significant disability and unemployment. Cognitive impairment post traumatic brain injury is due to the disruption of brain vascular bed and microstructural damage. Currently, there is no specific therapy for individual with mild TBI. Neuropsychological assessment and early management immediately after mild traumatic brain injury have been shown to reduce long term cognitive disability. In-vitro and in-vivo studies showed a better recovery of cognitive function after administration of exogenous lactate in traumatic brain injury.

The role of lactate in cerebral energy metabolism has been investigated widely. The ability of lactate as the sole energy substrate to support synaptic function has been demonstrated by different studies. In many studies, lactate has been proven to be a preferred or even an obligatory substrate over glucose for aerobic energy production during the initial stage of recovery from cerebral ischemia or hypoxia for recovery from ATP-depleted synaptic function and exogenously supplied lactate can support the early recovery of synaptic function after hypoxia.

However, the clinical studies evaluated the effect of lactate administration on cognitive function in patients with mild traumatic brain injury are still limited. Therefore, we conduct a study to evaluate the effect of exogenous lactate infusion contained in hyperosmolar sodium lactate solution on cognitive function assessed by Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) score evolution in mild traumatic brain injury compared with patients receiving hyperosmolar sodium chloride 3 % as a control group. MMSE score can be used as a tool to describe cognitive function.