Traumatic brain injury can bring consequences almost 20 years later

| EFE | 04 Sep 2019 | 17:32

A single Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) can cause continued neurological degeneration that affects knowledge until almost 20 years later, a report submitted by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) states on Wednesday.

The report found that a single occurrence of TBI can bring chronic effects by triggering the accumulation of Tau protein, which plays an important role in the generation of Alzheimer's.

Although previous research has evaluated the negative effects on brain functions of repeated occurrences of TBI, the study presented on Wednesday analyzed the effects of a single episode, following follow-up up to 18 years after the trauma presented.

The research, led by Professor Nikos Gorgoraptis of Imperial College London and will be published on September 5 in the journal Science Translational Medicine, conducted live evaluations on 21 participants and compared them with 11 other individuals as a control group.

Positron emission tomography images (PET or CT) were analyzed using the chemical compound "flortaucipir", which binds to the Tau protein and facilitates its image and recognition.

Thus, the researchers were able to verify the greater presence of Tau in patients who suffered a single bruise.

"The experiment revealed that, collectively, the TBI cohort showed more Tau deposition (as indicated by a greater flortaucipir junction) compared to 11 healthy controls," the analysis noted.

Similarly, and despite being a single traumatic episode, the affected people presented "a worse performance in memory tests and cognitive performance."

Patients affected by this "greater deposition of Tau" also showed "a more severe neurological degeneration," the report said.

The greater accumulation of Tau "was also related to damage to the white matter of the brain, the tissue that isolates and nourishes the neurons," the report said.

The researchers recommended designing therapies to identify the presence of Tau in patients who have suffered a traumatic brain injury, even if it was only once and years ago.

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