Discovery: a concussion and Alzheimer's disease are closely related

Hitherto, doctors believed that severe traumatic brain injury is one of the key risk factors for the development of neurodegenerative diseases. But a new study conducted in the School of Medicine at Boston University, has shown that even mild brain concussion can lead to negative consequences, The Daily Mail reports.

The study included 160 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (average age - 32 years). Some of them got a concussion one or several times, but the rest is not. The volunteers underwent a MRI. The scientists measured the thickness of cerebral cortex in 7 control areas and the first 7 areas where atrophy associated with Alzheimer's disease begins.

The researchers have found that a concussion was associated with thinning of the cortex in the brain areas which are the first to suffer dementia. The scientists emphasize that the anomalies have been found in relatively young people. Perhaps the experts’ findings will help other researchers to understand the reasons of connection between concussion and neurodegenerative diseases.

Source: МEDdaily