Single blow to the head can cause dementia-like damage to the brain, new study finds

The study comes amid concern over the long-term health of professional sports players (stock image)
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Ella Wills1 August 2018

A single blow to the head can cause the same brain damage as found in dementia patients, a new study has found.

Researchers discovered that one injury can produce abnormal proteins including those associated with Alzheimer's disease, and that they spread through the brain.

The landmark study, from the Pharmacological Research of Milan and the University of Glasgow, has been hailed as the first evidence that just one traumatic brain injury can generate an abnormal form of the dementia associated protein tau, which can result in memory loss and brain damage.

It comes amid concern over the long-term health of professional sport players following high profile cases in which stars have developed degenerative brain conditions.

“Traumatic brain injury is a leading cause of death and disability in young adults,” said Dr Elisa Zanier who led the Mario Negri Institute team with Dr Roberto Chiesa. “Moreover, even in milder cases, it represents a risk factor for dementia, such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)."

The study analysed the brains of patients surviving a year or more after a single, severe traumatic brain injury.

Researchers found evidence of abnormal forms of the tau protein, which holds brain cells together, throughout the brain. The problem was more widespread in comparison to brains from patients who had not been hurt.

Willie Stewart, a neuropathologist at Glasgow University and lead researcher on the project, told The Times that the finds were relevant to sport.

He said: "There is a false assumption that being hit by a car produces a different brain injury to being hit on a rugby field thousands of times during your career." Mr Stewart added that the biological processes "are very similar if not the same" in the two injuries.

The study, published in the journal Brain, also observed the same abnormal tau protein in mice with brain injuries, which spread over time.

In Europe, more than five million people live with a physical or psychological disability due to moderate or severe traumatic brain injury.

The new study identifies the spread of the abnormal tau protein as a possible mechanism responsible for the long-term disability of traumatic brain injury patients, and suggests that blocking tau propagation may have therapeutic effects.

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