The Impact of Brain Injuries

Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) with loss of consciousness may have a long-term impact on neurological health, a new study found.

This JAMA Neurology study found that a TBI with loss of consciousness wasn't tied to Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment or dementia later in life, but there was an association with Parkinson's disease, small strokes and Lewy body accumulation when compared to TBI without loss of consciousness.

The late effects of TBIs have recently come into the spotlight with the increasing numbers of TBIs in athletes and in those in combat. This study, which looked at 7,130 participants — whose average age was 80 — in three past studies, set out to quantify those effects the late effects of TBIs in older adults and non-athletes.

Among these patients, 865 reported having had a TBI with loss of consciousness in the past.

These University of Washington researchers found 117 cases of Parkinson's disease among study patients. 

This study was funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Several authors disclosed receiving funding from certain health organizations.