Each Head Injury Dramatically Ups Risk of Parkinson’s Disease (Study)

New research suggests that even a mild head injury increases the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease and slash the age at which one usually gets diagnosed by two years.

Researchers also found that the risk of Parkinson’s is greater when the head injury is more severe.

According to the study, mild injuries, also known as concussions, increase the risk 56%, while severe injuries up the risk 85%.

The study appeared this week in the medical journal Neurology.

Unfortunately, Parkinson’s disease has no cure. Its main symptoms include difficulty walking and coordinating and tremors in the limbs.

Lead author Raquel C. Gardner, MD, underscored that even mild traumatic brain injuries can boost the risk of developing the neurological disorder. In the U.S., 40% of adult Americans have had a concussion at least once in their lifetime.

Across the globe, around 42 million people are affected by a mild TBI each year. Among seniors, head injuries are a growing problem.

Head Injuries Boost Overall Risk of Parkinson’s Disease 71%

Researchers define a mild TBI as a head injury that results in the loss of consciousness for up to 30 minutes, memory issues for up to 24 hours, or amnesia for up to 24 hours.

Severe TBIs involve the loss of consciousness for over half an hour and memory issues or amnesia for more than one day.

The latest study involved data on 325,870 vets from the US Veterans Health Administration databases. When the research started, none of the participants had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s. The oldest vet was 65 years old.

Around 50% of participants had had a type of TBI before the study. Volunteers were tracked for 12 years. Nearly 1,500 developed Parkinson’s. Of those, 949 had been affected by a traumatic brain injury. The overall risk for veterans with a head injury to develop Parkinson’s disease was 71%, the study found.
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Anne-Marie Jackson

Anna grew up on a steady diet of 20th century literature, science-fiction movies and Viking lore. Unsurprisingly she turned into a technology geek with an inclination for history & fantasy.