TBI and Neurodegenerative Diseases in Functional Neurology

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the most common causes of disability and death among the general population, especially in young adults. Additionally, TBI is associated with a variety of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer�s disease (AD) and Parkinson�s disease (PD). It is essential for patients and healthcare professionals to understand the pathophysiological mechanisms of traumatic brain injury and neurodegenerative diseases to diagnose factors which may ultimately cause neurodegeneration associated with TBI as well as determine possible treatment approaches. �

Oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and glutamatergic excitotoxicity have previously been associated with TBI and neurodegenerative diseases. As a matter of fact, oxidative stress is believed to be an essential pathological mechanism which connects TBI to neurodegenerative diseases. Research studies have demonstrated that reactive oxygen species and their subsequent byproducts may play a role as novel fluid markers for the identification and monitoring of cellular damage. These reactive oxygen species can also serve as a suitable treatment approach to ultimately help reduce the risk of neurodegenerative diseases and promote quality of life for people suffering from TBI and other health issues. �

Pathogenesis of TBI and Neurodegenerative Diseases

Several research studies have demonstrated the development of neurodegenerative diseases following TBI. Previous research studies have also shown a three times higher prevalence of PD following TBI. Likewise, the prevalence of AD has also been shown to be higher following TBI. Moreover, traumatic brain injury has been demonstrated to be a risk factor for ALS with several research studies demonstrating an increased risk of neurological diseases in professional Italian soccer players. A case-control research study of ALS patients in the United States also found an increased risk of ALS with repeated TBI. However, it currently appears unlikely that a single occurrence of TBI could considerably affect the risk of ALS. Additionally, chronic traumatic encephalitis (CTE), a tau pathology, has been demonstrated in NFL players and professional athletes which suffer from repeated TBI. Because of the prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases and other health issues appears to increase after TBI, it is relevant to discuss the pathogenesis of TBI and neurodegenerative diseases. �

In several research studies, TBI patients and TBI animal models have been shown to demonstrate characteristic pathological mechanisms in key proteins, indicating the disruption of axonal transport due to axonal injury. The accumulated proteins which result in protein neuropathy include A?, ?-synuclein, and tau protein. These abnormal proteins are specifically interesting because it is well-known that A? protein aggregation is an essential pathological factor of AD, ?-synuclein protein aggregation is an important characteristic of PD, and tau protein aggregation is fundamental in the pathogenesis of CTE and AD. Surprisingly, these protein neuropathological changes occur in all three proteins through oxidative stress-associated free radicals and reactive aldehydes which are commonly increased following TBI. Additionally, the reactive aldehyde byproducts of lipid peroxidation have been demonstrated to result in further lipid peroxidation. Provided that these pathological proteins can also cause the development of free radicals through excitotoxicity or changes in mitochondrial ion balance. Because reactive aldehydes can cause further lipid peroxidation and protein carbonylation, it is possible that oxidative stress also plays a key role in a self-propagating cycle of lipid peroxidation, protein carbonylation, and neurodegenerative protein aggregation. Further research studies are still necessary to determine these outcome measures. �

TBI patients and TBI animal models have also demonstrated behavioral signs and symptoms, such as post-TBI dementia which resembles AD, post-TBI motor deficits which offer evidence of post-TBI brain tissue damage in the region of the hippocampus thus, resembling brain tissue damage in AD, and damage in the basal ganglia thus, resembling the brain tissue damage which occurs in PD. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research studies have also shown transient and persistent neuropathological functional changes in the brain of TBI patients which may contribute to the development of chronic neurodegenerative diseases. These changes observed in post-injury patients suggest that TBI could cause the initial tissue damage which resembles or results in processes in the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases. �

Based on the essential role which oxidative stress plays in post-TBI secondary injury and in the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases, it is possible that oxidative stress is a key process in connecting TBI to the increased prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases. Furthermore, oxidative stress may serve as a therapeutic, diagnostic, or prognostic marker in evaluating the risks of long term neurological diseases following TBI which can help determine a proper treatment approach. �

Treatment of TBI and Neurological Diseases

Considering the considerable risks caused by TBI, it is clear that there is a need for effective methods and techniques for early diagnosis and treatment of TBI patients to ultimately reduce the prevalence of post-TBI neurological sequelae. Currently, the diagnosis of TBI is primarily based on the patient’s provided history and clinical observations. Several clinical systems have been developed for the evaluation of mTBI, which is the most common type of clinical TBI, including the Sports Concussion Assessment Tool and Military Acute Concussion Evaluation. However, these assessments are made to be utilized immediately after injury and, as such, quickly decreasing in sensitivity with delayed evaluation. Moreover, the Glasgow Coma Scale has been utilized for decades and allows for both quick and constant communication of the patient’s condition nevertheless, the currently accepted threshold score of 13 may not be adequate to exclude visible abnormalities on computed tomography imaging which require neurosurgical intervention. Due to these outcome measures in current diagnostic methods and techniques, civilian and military work-groups have recommended the development of fluid or imaging-based biomarkers for the diagnosis of mTBI to ultimately determine the most appropriate treatment approach. �

Several substances and proteins have been suggested to play an essential role as fluid biomarkers, including glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), calcium-binding protein S100B, and tau protein. In most cases, the presence of these biomarkers demonstrates a blood-brain barrier disruption within the central nervous system. These proteins have been demonstrated to be acutely increased following TBI in human participants, however, these currently face challenges of low specificity, poor correlation with the development of post-concussive symptoms, and poor correlation with imaging abnormalities. �

Provided the key role of oxidative stress and neuroinflammation in secondary neuronal injury and neurodegeneration, it is possible that the results of these processes may also serve as suitable biomarkers. As previously mentioned, plasma levels of several oxidative stress and inflammation-associated markers have been demonstrated to be increased in serum up to 42 days following multiple blast injuries and as early as one day following a single injury. Furthermore, lipid peroxidation products, such as acrolein and 4-hydroxynonenal, have also been demonstrated to be associated not only in TBI secondary injury but also in other types of neuronal health issues, such as spinal cord injury and ischemia-reperfusion injury. Provided that these peroxidation products are not only a cause of damage but also able to cause the modification of biomacromolecules where it is possible that measured increases may be able to demonstrate not only present damage but also continued secondary injury. Treatment of oxidative stress could help as a possible prophylactic treatment to decrease the risk of post-TBI neurodegeneration. Direct supplementation with endogenous antioxidants, such as glutathione and superoxide dismutase, has not demonstrated considerable benefits because these do not easily cross the blood-brain barrier. However, the glutathione precursor N-acetylcysteine has demonstrated several acute benefits in both animal and human research studies. Additionally, focusing on substances of the oxidative cascade, such as reactive aldehydes, has been demonstrated as a possible treatment due to the more lengthened half-lives of these substances when compared to ROS. However, despite the lengthened increase of inflammatory and oxidative byproducts, trials of antioxidant therapies have generally favored acute treatment, often within hours of the TBI, suggesting that acute treatment is appropriate. �

Considering the essential role of post-TBI oxidative stress in the development and progression of chronic neurodegenerative diseases, diagnosis and treatment of this process seem to be promising for the management and regulation of neurodegenerative diseases following TBI. Provided their connection to oxidative stress, inflammatory markers, and lipid peroxidation byproducts could serve as surrogate biofluid markers. Finally, antioxidant treatment strategies can help neutralize perpetuation of cellular and molecular damage and decrease risks of long-term neurological sequelae. �

As previously mentioned in the article above, oxidative stress seems to be the key pathological mechanism connecting neuroinflammation and glutamatergic excitotoxicity in both TBI and neurodegenerative diseases. Due to the increased prevalence of TBI and neurodegenerative diseases, the development of new safe and effective, early diagnosis and treatment approaches is fundamental for overall health and wellness. Many healthcare professionals can improve symptoms and health issues associated with TBI and neurodegenerative diseases. – Dr. Alex Jimenez D.C., C.C.S.T. Insight

TBI is associated with a variety of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer�s disease (AD) and Parkinson�s disease (PD). It is essential for patients and healthcare professionals to understand the pathophysiological mechanisms of traumatic brain injury and neurodegenerative diseases to diagnose factors which may ultimately cause neurodegeneration associated with TBI as well as determine possible treatment approaches. The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic, musculoskeletal and nervous health issues as well as functional medicine articles, topics, and discussions. To further discuss the subject matter above, please feel free to ask Dr. Alex Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 . �

Curated by Dr. Alex Jimenez �

Additional Topic Discussion: Chronic Pain

Sudden pain is a natural response of the nervous system which helps to demonstrate possible injury. By way of instance, pain signals travel from an injured region through the nerves and spinal cord to the brain. Pain is generally less severe as the injury heals, however, chronic pain is different than the average type of pain. With chronic pain, the human body will continue sending pain signals to the brain, regardless if the injury has healed. Chronic pain can last for several weeks to even several years. Chronic pain can tremendously affect a patient’s mobility and it can reduce flexibility, strength, and endurance.

Neural Zoomer Plus for Neurological Disease

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Dr. Alex Jimenez utilizes a series of tests to help evaluate neurological diseases. The Neural Zoomer^TM Plus is an array of neurological autoantibodies which offers specific antibody-to-antigen recognition. The Vibrant Neural Zoomer^TM Plus is designed to assess an individual�s reactivity to 48 neurological antigens with connections to a variety of neurologically related diseases. The Vibrant Neural Zoomer^TM Plus aims to reduce neurological conditions by empowering patients and physicians with a vital resource for early risk detection and an enhanced focus on personalized primary prevention. �

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