Fig. 1

Summary of the progression of inflammatory factors and epileptogenesis after TBI. After TBI, epileptogenesis occurs after a latent period of months to years. Within hours after the injury, a myriad of cytokines are released at high levels which can continue for days. This is concurrent with activation of ion-channels and post-translational modifications of various receptors associated with neuronal excitation and inhibition, which can occur as early as minutes after the injury. Local immune cells are activated, and peripheral immune cells are also recruited to the area within hours to days. Neuroinflammation can persist for weeks after the injury, coincidental with widespread neuronal loss. In the later phase of epileptogenesis, processes such as neurogenesis and mossy fiber sprouting in the hippocampus contribute to an increasingly excitable neuronal environment. It may be weeks, months, or years before spontaneous seizures and the establishment of chronic and persistent epilepsy manifests