Traumatic brain injury (TBI) with, and without, loss of consciousness (LOC) is linked to increased neurodegenerative and vascular pathology associated with dementia, new research suggests.
Results from a large cross-sectional analysis showed patients with TBI and LOC had a significantly greater amyloid-β load — and higher odds for having gross infarcts and microinfarcts, including subcortical microinfarcts, vs those without TBI.
Participants with TBI without LOC had higher odds for cortical microinfarcts and neocortical Lewy bodies.
Sonal Agrawal, PhD
The study illustrates that "all forms of TBI, even milder forms that don't result in loss of consciousness, are important in producing brain pathologies in older people," lead author Sonal Agrawal, PhD, assistant professor at Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center and Department of Pathology, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, told Medscape Medical News.
Therefore, clinicians might consider more careful screening of patients with mild TBI and provide dietary, cognitive, and physical activity advice that may reduce risk for brain pathologies later on, Agrawal noted.
The findings were published online April 27 in JAMA Network Open.
Greater Amyloid Load
Previous research has shown TBI is a risk factor for cognitive impairment and dementia, although most of this evidence is from moderate or severe TBI. Most TBIs in the general population are relatively mild, Agrawal noted.
