Folks who overlook a concussion might find themselves at greater risk for Alzheimer’s disease down the line, a new study says.
Receiving prompt treatment within one week of a serious head injury can reduce the later risk of Alzheimer’s by up to 41%, researchers recently reported in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.
“Our analysis shows that acting quickly matters in the long term,” lead researcher Austin Kennemer, a third-year medical student at the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio, said in a news release.
As many as 2.8 million Americans suffer a traumatic brain injury each year, researchers said in background notes. These happen when the brain is harmed by the physical force of a car crash, sports injury or combat-related explosion.
People who suffer brain injuries are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s, due to long-lasting brain inflammation that damages brain cells, researchers said.
To see whether this harm can be avoided, researchers analyzed health records of 37,000 people 50 to 90 who suffered a moderate to severe brain injury.
Those who received treatment within a week of their concussion had a 41% lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s three years later, and a 30% lower risk five years later, results show.
This treatment involves neurorehabilitation, a form of therapy that leverages the brain’s ability to form new connections and reorganize itself following an injury.
Neurorehabilitation can involve a combination of physical therapy, occupational therapy, cognitive rehabilitation and speech therapy, researchers said.
Previous studies have found that those who receive neurorehabilitation following a head injury have significantly more brain power by the time they leave the hospital, researchers noted.
“For the millions of people who suffer head injuries each year, the message is clear: Getting treatment immediately could protect their minds for decades to come,” senior researcher Rong Xu, director of the Center for AI in Drug Discovery at Case Western Reserve University, said in a news release.