Brain PET studies suggest an association between early amyloid accumulation and repetitive concussion trauma

A new study using positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of the brain suggests a link between trauma under repetitive concussion and increased amyloid deposition in the brain of otherwise healthy men. increase.

This study was recently published Radiologyresearchers utilized PET imaging of the brain to assess the effects of exposure to repeated blast events in nine military instructors (mean age 33 years) and nine age-matched healthy controls. compared.

Five months after the military instructors were exposed to the blast, the study authors found a significant increase in amyloid deposition in the superior parietal lobule, precuneus, anterior cingulate gyrus, and inferior medial frontal lobes within this cohort. I noticed that The study found that of nine military instructors, three men had increased amyloid uptake in one brain region, two men had abnormal amyloid deposits in two brain regions, and one study Participants had abnormal amyloid elevations in three regions of the brain.

Noting that amyloid accumulation is a pathological marker for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the researchers concluded that the increased amyloid seen on PET imaging was associated with brain regions known to have AD-related abnormalities. I pointed out something.

“[Traumatic brain injury]is a risk factor for the development of AD dementia or encephalopathy. Several autopsy studies have shown that amyloid plaques are present in the brain hours after injury and persist for years.” It shows,” wrote lead study author Carlos Leiva-Salinas, MD, Ph.D., MBA, Chief and Director of Neuroradiology. He is a member and colleague of the Neuroradiology Fellowship Program at the University of Missouri School of Medicine.

The researchers also used a voxel-based approach for whole-brain parametric mapping using PET to improve the recognition of patterns associated with abnormal amyloid build-up resulting from traumatic brain injury, which could be useful for future research efforts. I also noted that there is a possibility to set a table of .

“Because amyloid(beta) can accumulate in presymptomatic individuals years before neurodegenerative symptoms appear, understanding the relationship between trauma and amyloid(beta) accumulation is important for amyloid deposition. This ability has the potential to slow or even prevent neurodegeneration in both military and civilian populations,” Leiva-Salinas and colleagues suggested. I’m here.

(Editor’s Note: For related content, seeDoes the Keto Diet Affect PET Imaging of the Brain?” and “Researchers present first noninvasive images of alpha-synuclein in the brain”)

and Accompanying editorialSven Haller, MD, MSc., found that a study design that emphasized longitudinal evaluation of the same study participants by repeat brain PET may have contributed to the early detection of abnormal amyloid deposits that were not evident in previous studies. pointed out that there is a

“There is considerable individual variability in amyloid PET accumulation. Therefore, when comparing individual cases to a reference data set or when averaging individuals in cross-group analyses, subtle changes are hidden in normal variability.” However, the conducted intra-individual longitudinal design of this study circumvents this inter-individual variability and is able to detect subtle individual amyloid PET accumulation over time. ,” said Dr. Haller, neuroradiologist and medical director at the Center d’Imagerie Medicale de Cornavin in Geneva, Switzerland.

Regarding study limitations, the authors acknowledged that the small sample size may have hampered insight into the relationship between trauma burden and degree of amyloid (beta) deposition.Leiva-Salinas They also noted that multiple follow-up points, rather than a single 5-month follow-up assessment in this study, may have provided perspective on the evolution of increased amyloid deposition. The severity of the blast during amyloid deposition could not be assessed due to the lack of electronic telemetry equipment, according to the study authors.