Figure 5.

Sources of capillary dysfunction after traumatic brain injury (TBI). The colored panels summarize the sources of capillary flow disturbances as identified in this review, and their estimated duration (x-axis). They include astrocyte endfeet swelling observed 3 hours to 3 days after contusions in humans (Figure 1), capillary compressions due to local swelling and increased intracranial pressure (ICP) throughout the critical period after the injury, and oxidative stress and nitric oxide depletion caused by pericapillary oxyhemoglobin. The extent to which structural damage to the capillary wall is permanent is crucial because permanent changes in capillary transit time heterogeneity (CTH) are potential sources of long-term, neurodegenerative changes.¹⁵⁰ Reproduced and modified from ref. 116.