Head trauma has always been view as a potential to long term health issues, and now consussions seem to be something that may trigger Alzheimer’s. “New research has found concussions accelerate Alzheimer’s disease-related brain atrophy and cognitive decline in people who are at genetic risk for the condition.
The findings, which appear in the journal Brain, show promise for detecting the influence of concussion on neurodegeneration.
Moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury is one of the strongest environmental risk factors for developing neurodegenerative diseases such as late-onset Alzheimer’s disease, although it is unclear whether mild traumatic brain injury or concussion also increases this risk.
Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) studied 160 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, some who had suffered one or more concussions and some who had never had a concussion. Using MRI imaging, the thickness of their cerebral cortex was measured in seven regions that are the first to show atrophy in Alzheimer’s disease, as well as seven control regions.
“We found that having a concussion was associated with lower cortical thickness in brain regions that are the first to be affected in Alzheimer’s disease,” explained corresponding author Jasmeet Hayes, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry at BUSM and research psychologist at the National Center for PTSD, VA Boston Healthcare System. “Our results suggest that when combined with genetic factors, concussions may be associated with accelerated cortical thickness and memory decline in Alzheimer’s disease relevant areas.”
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