Tagged with “neuroinflammation”
October 5, 2021
Earlier this year the Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) issued an open letter encouraging all individuals with brain injury to get a COVID vaccine. The letter cites evidence from the American Academy of Neurology that anyone with a neurologic disorder such a brain injury is particularly vulnerable to diseases like influenza and COVID:
“When one is infected with COVID-19, the virus attacks the “weakest link” it finds in the body, which is why individuals with longstanding chronic medical conditions are at the greatest risk for infection, complications and even death,” explained BIAA National Medical Director Brent E. Masel, M.D. “Studies have shown that traumatic brain injury triggers an inflammatory process in the brain that causes an individual to experience chronic issues. This process places those individuals at far greater risk of developing complications from COVID-19, which itself is well known to cause chronic neuroinflammatory issues.”
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January 7, 2020
In a recent review the literature, researchers at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research identified the establishment of a protective gut microbiota as a “compelling therapeutic avenue” for the treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI).
In a January 23, 2018 post this author summarized evidence that a TBI can trigger pathology in the Gut-Brain Axis and increase infections. The Walter Reed researchers dive deeper into this issue. Summarizing the research, they explain that “brain injury induces disruptions in the composition of the gut microbiota, i.e. gut dysbiosis, which has been shown to contribute to TBI-related neuropathology and impaired behavioral outcomes.” (emphasis added.) Read More
December 2, 2019
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) have been often been viewed as two distinct conditions, one with an “emotional” cause and the other with a “physical” cause. It has been recognized for some time that these conditions can produce similar symptoms, such as problems with sleep, concentration, memory and mood. As noted by the authors of a literature review published in Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports, “increasingly symptoms previously presumed to be specific to PTSD or TBI are being identified in both disorders.” These include symptoms more commonly associated with TBI such as headache, dizziness, balance and vision problems. Evidence has also demonstrated that patients with a history of TBI are more likely to meet criteria for PTSD than others with similar intensity injuries and that patients who are also diagnosed with PTSD are significantly more likely to report persistent cognitive or sensory problems after a TBI. Read More
January 2, 2018
Although the primary focus of this blog is on “traumatic” brain injury, the literature increasingly demonstrates that the physiological causes of cognitive impairment overlap between a range of conditions having neurodegenerative consequences, including TBI, PTSD, Alzheimer’s disease and “Chemobrain”. (Chronic inflammation appears to be one of the common variables, as discussed in prior posts.) Read More
September 29, 2016
There’s new evidence supporting immediate removal of athletes from play following concussion.
A new study published in the September, 2016 issue of Pediatrics provides evidence that returning to play immediately following a sports related concussion, even without a “second impact” nearly doubles, on average, the length of time required to recover and exposes athletes to a greater risk of protracted symptoms. As the authors point out in their report, the Institute of Medicine and National Research Council stated in 2013 that
“the culture of sports negatively influences SRC [sports related concussion] reporting and that athletes, coaches, and parents do not fully acknowledge the risks of playing while injured.”
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November 16, 2015
Neuroinflammation as a likely cause of persistent symptoms following traumatic brain injury (TBI), as well as increased risk of neurodegenerative complications, is leading to increased attention on anti-inflammatory strategies with diet, exercise, lifestyle and medication
Our May 28, 2015 blog post discussed the evidence offered by McMasters University researchers in support of their conclusion that the body’s immune response following injury can lead to unchecked, ultimately destructive neuroinflammation and that this likely underlies persistent symptoms following TBI as well as increased risk of neurodegenerative conditions such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and Alzheimers. The authors observed similar neuroinflammatory processes in patients without a history of head injury, such as patients with serious infections, PTSD and Depression. They also noted that subtle genetic differences may explain differences in inflammatory responses between patients, leading to different long term outcomes. The October 2015 issue of Trends in Neuroscience includes a review by Ohio State neuroscientists with further support for this new paradigm for understanding the brain’s response to injury. See “Priming the Inflammatory Pump of the CNS after Traumatic Brain Injury.” Read More
May 28, 2015
In a study published in April 2015 in the medical journal Brain Behavior and Immunity, a team of Canadian researchers at McMaster University presents a new understanding of the cause of the wide-array of symptoms experienced by some patients following concussion, such as headaches, dizziness, sleep disturbance, fatigue, cognitive impairment and neuropsychiatric symptoms.
This new paradigm helps to explain why the same pattern of symptoms can be found in some non-head injury patients, such a patient who has experienced infections or a patient diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. It also helps to explain why some patients recover and others do not and why pre-accident experience can influence the course of post-accident recovery. Read More
