OBJECTIVE: Traumatic brain injury is the major cause of death among individuals between 1-45 years-old. The outcome of traumatic brain injury may be related to brain susceptibility to the injury and genetic factors. Genes that may affect traumatic brain injury outcome are being investigated, however there is still few data concerning the association between genetic polymorphisms and traumatic brain injury outcome. The interleukin-1 beta gene (IL-1B) is one of the most studied genes, because levels of this cytokine are raised after traumatic brain injury and this can affect worsen the prognosis. The aim of this study was to test whether the -31C/T polymorphism, located at the promoter region of the IL-1B gene, is associated with primary short-term outcome (death or intensive care unit discharge) in severe traumatic brain injury patients. METHODS: Were studied 69 patients admitted with severe traumatic brain injury in three hospitals of the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre. The polymorphism was analyzed by polymerase chain reaction, followed by restriction digestion. RESULTS: Severe traumatic brain injury was associated with a 45% mortality rate. No significant differences were observed in the allele and genotype frequencies between patients stratified by traumatic brain injury outcome. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that -31C/T IL-1B gene polymorphism have no significant impact on the outcome of patients after acute severe traumatic brain injury.
Interleukin-1beta; Polymorphism, genetic; Craniocerebral trauma
