Researchers say concussions could cause Alzheimer’s

A new study focused on wounded war veterans with brain trauma revealed clear evidence that mild head injuries can wear down the defenses of brain regions vulnerable to Alzheimer’s – concluding that concussions drastically increase one’s risk of the disease “Until now, doctors considered severe traumatic brain injury a key risk factor for developing neurodegenerative […]

A new study focused on wounded war veterans with brain trauma revealed clear evidence that mild head injuries can wear down the defenses of brain regions vulnerable to Alzheimer’s – concluding that concussions drastically increase one’s risk of the disease

“Until now, doctors considered severe traumatic brain injury a key risk factor for developing neurodegenerative diseases such as late-onset Alzheimer’s,” an article by the Daily Mail reads. “But this is the first study to prove even lower impact like concussion could have life-threatening consequences. The findings come amid a surge in studies investigating the prevalence of concussions in the National Football League and high school sports.”

The new study was conducted at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and it involved 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,” the article reads. “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 lead author Dr. Jasmeet Hayes, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry at BUSM.”

Hayes told Daily News that the results suggest that when combined with genetic factors, concussions may be connected with accelerated cortical thickness and memory decline. Also, the abnormalities were found in a relatively young group of participants, the average age being 32-years-old.

“These findings show promise for detecting the influence of concussion on neurodegeneration early in one’s lifetime,’ said Hayes, thus it is important to document the occurrence and subsequent symptoms of a concussion, even if the person reports only having their ‘bell rung’ and is able to shake it off fairly quickly.”

Concussions combined with other factors like genetics, may produce negative long-term health consequences, according to Hayes.

“The researchers hope that others can build upon these findings to find the precise concussion-related mechanisms that accelerate the onset of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, Parkinson’s and others,” the article reads.