A research report from the University of Texas Medical School, just published in Frontiers in Neurology, finds a correlation between Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) findings and cognitive assessments in patients with chronic complaints after concussion, providing evidence that DTI imaging may be a reliable biomarker predicting the severity of cognitive decline following concussion. (DTI is an MRI technique that detects microstructural changes in white matter such as the changes that can occur as a result of “diffuse axonal injury” in brain injuries including concussion.) Read More
In the first systematic review on this topic, researchers at the University of Texas report on growing consistent evidence that traumatic brain injury (TBI) changes the gut microbiome. Evaluating these changes, they conclude, will be a fertile ground for new therapeutic interventions. Read More
In a peer-reviewed article published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 2020;78(2):757-775. doi: 10.3233/JAD-200662, Canadian researcher found that a history of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) almost doubled the risk of being diagnosed with dementia and that mTBI was the strongest environmental risk factor for dementia, comparable to health risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension and obesity. Read More
Adding to a growing volume of literature on this topic, Montreal researchers published a study in January, 2021 demonstrating that a single mild traumatic brain injury involving late adulthood patients (ages 50-70) leads to subtle, long-term cognitive consequences.
were symptom-free within three months of their accident (including depression and anxiety)
did not present with chronic conditions known as risk factors for cognitive decline (uncontrolled diabetes, uncontrolled high blood pressure or cardiovascular disease)
Functional MRI studies suggest that psychotherapy for PTSD improves symptoms by changing the way brain networks communicate with each other, offering a potential “biosignature” for effective treatment
In prior blog posts we have reviewed literature demonstrating that TBI and PTSD may not be separable but may, in fact, be intimately related not just at the level of symptoms and etiology, but also as the level of pathophysiology. Both can impact the interactions between the body’s immune, endocrine and neuromodulatory neurotransmitter systems. Read More
For those not familiar with the term, a “meta-analysis” is a quantitative, formal, epidemiological study design used to systematically assess the results of previous research to derive conclusions about that body of research. Dr. Rebecca Acabchuk and her team at UConn’s Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention and Policy (InCHIP) have just published the first ever systematic review and meta-analysis on the “Therapeutic Effects of Meditation, Yoga and Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Chronic Symptoms of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury,” in Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, the journal of the International Association of Applied Psychology.
This topic was first introduced in this blog in 2014 and touched on more recently in our review of a Dartmouth study documenting the effectiveness of the “Love your Brain” Yoga program started by Vermont’s snowboarding celebrity Kevin Peace (who was recently featured as the key-note speaker at the annual Vermont Brain Association conference.) Read More
Studies over the last several years have shown that the lymphatic system serving the brain, located in the membranes covering the brain (the “meninges”) plays an important role in brain injury recovery.
As most people know, the lymphatic system helps to rid the body of toxins and waste, including the byproducts of the body’s immune response to injury. For brain injury this is sometimes described as “damage/danger-associated molecular patterns” – “DAMPs” – such as protein aggregates, necrotic cells, and cellular debris.
Researchers at the University of Virginia, at the Center for Brain Immunology and Glia, have released an important study furthering our understanding of the role meningeal lymphatic dysfunction plays in causing some patients to suffer severe and long-lasting impairments following even a “mild” traumatic brain injury (TBI) and helps to explain why these injuries increase the risk for neurodegenerative problems such as Alzheimer’s, ALS and dementia. Read More
American Academy of Neurology publishes an important study showing consistent evidence of axonal injury following a single TBI for years after injury using multiple measures, including a blood biomarker, MRI/DTI and volumetric analysis, and functional tests
An article published in April, 2020 by the American College of Emergency Physicians reports on evidence that underdiagnosis of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) “is a pervasive problem in the emergency setting,” and that even patients who receive a diagnosis are unlikely to receive appropriate discharge education and are therefore at risk of missing opportunities for treatment, referral and improvement in outcomes. Koval et. at., Concussion Care in the Emergency Department: A Prospective Operational Brief Report, Annals of Emergency Medicine 2020 Apr;75(4):483-490. Read More
