Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 12, 2026
Advanced Diffusion Imaging in The Hippocampus of Rats with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Published on: August 14, 2019
CSF β-Amyloid and Tau Biomarker Changes in Veterans With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.
Ge Li1, Jeffrey Iliff1, Jane Shofer1
1From the Veterans Affairs Northwest Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC) (G.L., J.I., J.S., C.L.M., J.M., K.F.P., M.A.R., E.R.P.) and Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC) (G.L., D.C.), Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA; Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (G.L., J.I., J.S., D.C., M.A.R., E.R.P.), Neurology (J.I.), Radiology (C.L.M.), Pharmacology (D.C.), Rehabilitation Medicine (K.F.P.), and Division of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine Department of Medicine, (D.C.), University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA; Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry (K.B.), Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg; Clinical Neurochemistry Laboratory (H.Z., K.B.), Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Mölndal, Sweden; Department of Neurodegenerative Disease (H.Z.), UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square; UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL (H.Z.), London, United Kingdom; Hong Kong Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (H.Z.), Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, China; and Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (H.Z.), University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI.
Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) in veterans may increase Alzheimer disease (AD) risk. Blast-related mTBI was associated with lower cerebrospinal fluid Aβ levels and poorer cognition in middle-aged veterans, suggesting potential long-term AD-related changes.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Neurology
- Gerontology
Background:
- Moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are linked to increased Alzheimer disease (AD) risk.
- The association between mild TBI (mTBI), particularly blast-related mTBI in veterans, and AD risk remains less understood.
- This study investigates early AD pathological changes in veterans with blast-related mTBI using cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate early Alzheimer disease (AD) changes in veterans with blast-related mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).
- To compare CSF AD biomarkers and cognitive performance between veterans with and without blast-related mTBI.
- To assess the age-dependent effects of blast-related mTBI on AD biomarkers and cognition.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional case-control study involving veterans with mTBI and non-mTBI controls.
- Participants underwent clinical and neuropsychological assessments and lumbar puncture for CSF collection.
- CSF biomarkers (Aβ40, Aβ42, p-tau181, t-tau) were measured using MesoScale Discovery and INNOTEST ELISAs.
Main Results:
- The study included 51 mTBI and 85 non-mTBI veterans (mean age ~33.5 years, 99% male).
- Age-dependent differences in CSF AD biomarkers were observed, most pronounced at older ages.
- At age 50, mTBI veterans showed significantly lower CSF Aβ42 and Aβ40, and poorer cognitive performance (TMT-B, CVLT-II) compared to non-mTBI controls.
Conclusions:
- Blast-related mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) in middle-aged veterans is associated with decreased CSF Aβ levels.
- These findings suggest that chronic neuropathological processes following blast mTBI may share similarities with Alzheimer disease (AD) pathogenesis.
- There is a concern that veterans with blast-related mTBI may be at increased risk for developing dementia later in life.
More Related Videos
06:22A Pilot Study on the Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation of Aβ and Tau Levels in Rhesus Monkey Cerebrospinal Fluid
Published on: September 3, 2021
08:36Development of an Uncomplicated Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Model Modified by Weight-Drop Method and Evidenced by Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Published on: April 11, 2025
