Methods of determining a treatment protocol for and/or a prognosis of a patient's recovery from a brain injury

Abstract

The present invention, in some embodiments, generally relates to methods of determining a treatment protocol for and/or a prognosis of a patient's recovery from a brain injury. In some embodiments, the brain injury results from a hypoxic event. In some embodiments, methods are provided for determining a measure of the concentration of tau protein in a patient sample containing or suspected of containing tau protein.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A method for determining a measure of the concentration of tau protein in a patient sample containing or suspected of containing tau protein, comprising:
 performing an assay to determine a measure of the concentration of tau protein in the sample, wherein the limit of detection of tau protein of the assay is less than about 0.2 pg/mL.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the tau protein is tau 23 (352, 0N3R), tau 24 (383, 0N4R), tau 37 (381, 1N3R), tau 34 (412, 1N4R), tau 39 (410, 2N3R), and/or tau 40 (441, 2N4R), optionally phosphorylated. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the patient is suspected to have a brain injury, optionally resulting from a hypoxic event. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the sample is a bodily fluid. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the bodily fluid is blood or a blood component. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the bodily fluid is CSF. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the blood component is plasma or serum. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the measure of the concentration of tau protein is determined in a plurality of samples taken from the patient over a period of time. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the plurality of samples are collected within 96 hours after the patient has experienced the brain injury or suspected brain injury, optionally resulting from a hypoxic event. 
     
     
         10 . A method of determining a patient's prognosis for recovery from, and/or determining a course of treatment for, a brain injury, wherein the prognosis and/or the course of treatment is based at least in part on the measure of the concentration of tau protein determined in the patient sample according to the method of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the brain injury results from a hypoxic event. 
     
     
         12 . A method of determining a treatment protocol for and/or a prognosis of a patient's recovery from a brain injury comprising:
 performing an assay on a blood sample from the patient and/or plasma and/or serum derived from the blood sample to determine a measure of the concentration of tau protein in the sample; and   determining a prognosis of the patient's recovery from the brain injury and/or a method of treatment based at least in part on the measured concentration of tau protein present in the sample.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the brain injury results from a hypoxic event. 
     
     
         14 - 19 . (canceled) 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the limit of detection for the assay is less than about 10 pg/mL, 9 pg/mL, 8 pg/mL, 7 pg/mL, 6 pg/mL, 5 pg/mL, 4 pg/mL, 3 pg/mL, 2 pg/mL, 1 pg/mL, 0.5 pg/mL, 0.1 pg/mL, 0.05 pg/mL, 0.02 pg/mL. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the brain injury comprises a hypoxic event caused by cardiac arrest. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the brain injury comprises a hypoxic event caused by stroke. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the brain injury comprises a hypoxic event caused by an ischemic event. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the brain injury comprises a hypoxic event caused by a thrombosis. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the brain injury comprises a hypoxic event caused by arterial embolism. 
     
     
         26 - 54 . (canceled) 
     
     
         55 . A method of determining a method of treatment for and/or a prognosis of a patient's recovery from a brain injury, comprising:
 (a) performing an assay on each of a plurality of samples obtained from the patient following the brain injury to determine the measured concentration of tau protein in each of the samples, wherein the plurality of samples are obtained from the patient over a period of time of at least about 48 hours;   (b) determining the area under the curve of a graph of the tau protein concentration in the plurality of samples versus time, wherein the area is determined for the entire time period and/or for a second peak in the tau protein concentration; and   (c) determining a prognosis of the patient's recovery from the brain injury and/or a method of treatment based at least in part on the area under the curve for the entire time period and/or the second peak in the tau protein concentration determined in step (b).   
     
     
         56 - 91 . (canceled)