Study Suggests Even Mild Brain Injuries Have Lasting Effects

Sarasota, FL (WorkersCompensation.com) – Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are defined as physical injuries to the head that impact or alter how the brain functions. According to a 2021 NCCI report, 15 percent of permanent claims with at least a second report was associated with a TBI. Additionally, 17 percent of claims between $3 million and $5 million are the result of brain and head injuries. For claims over $10 million, TBI’s account for 30 percent of claims.

While it is important to protect workers from head injuries resulting in a TBI, you may want to go the extra mile for older workers according to a new study from researchers at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

Side effects of a TBI can include not only cognitive and functional impairment, but mood and behavior issues. Some studies have suggested that just a single TBI may be associated with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. Most of the studies that show a direct correlation between TBIs and dementia have involved moderate to severe injuries. However, studies on mild TBIs, such as those without loss of consciousness, are conflicted. 

The researchers set out to investigate the association of a mild TBI without loss of consciousness and the impact on the nervous system. A cross-sectional analysis was done on neuropathologic data on 1,689 patients that tracked in the Religious Orders Study, the Rush Memory and Aging Project, and the Minority Aging Research Study starting in 1994. Sixty-seven percent of the patients were women, and 33 percent were men, with an average age at death of 89.2 years.

Brain autopsies and neuropathologic evaluations were done to assess markers such as amyloid-β levels, which are senile plaques often seen in Alzheimer's patients. Hippocampal sclerosis, Lewy bodies, and transactive response DNA-binding protein 43, often seen in dementia and Lou Gehrig's disease or ALS, were evaluated as well.

The researchers found that TBIs with loss of consciousness may be associated with a higher amyloid-β burden and vascular brain pathologic outcomes. Additionally, the researchers found that even a mild TBI without loss of consciousness may have long-term neurodegenerative and vascular consequences. The researchers concluded that TBIs in general may be a risk factor for cognitive and motor impairment much later in life.

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