Traumatic brain injury as a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease: current knowledge and future directions.
There is growing concern about the late effects of traumatic brain injury (TBI). This scoping review summarizes clinical research from the past 10 years that evaluates the relationship between TBI and Alzheimer's disease. This review identified five studies that found increased risk for dementia after TBI, two studies that found no increased risk and four studies that found a relationship only under certain conditions or in specified subsamples. Methodological differences across studies preclude direct comparison of results, and discrepant findings elucidate the complex course of post-TBI neurodegeneration. We discuss the factors that influence the strength and direction of the relationship between TBI and Alzheimer's disease, and the implications of this body of research for patient care and future research.
Brain Injury Research Center, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA.
Kristen
K
Dams-O'Connor
Brain Injury Research Center, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA.
Gabrielle
G
Guetta
Brain Injury Research Center, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA.
Amanda E
AE
Hahn-Ketter
Brain Injury Research Center, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA.
Andrew
A
Fedor
D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000209:etiology*; D035843:Biomedical Research; D000070642:Brain Injuries, Traumatic / Q000150:complications*; D005544:Forecasting; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D009410:Nerve Degeneration / Q000209:etiology; D012307:Risk Factors
Alzheimer's disease; dementia; traumatic brain injury