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Scientists have studied the long-term effects of brain injury
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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Researchers at the University of South Florida and their colleagues at the James A. Haley Veterans Affairs Medical Center studied the long-term effects of traumatic brain injury and found that TBI leads to a progressive deterioration in brain function characterized by inflammation and suppression of cell regeneration. However, therapeutic interventions may still help prevent cell death.
The results of the study are published in the latest issue of the journal PLoS ONE.
“According to the latest data, in the United States about 1.7 million people suffer from the consequences of a traumatic brain injury,” says Professor Cesar Borlongan. “In addition, TBI causes 52,000 deaths, which is 30% of all deaths from trauma.”
Even if a TBI does not immediately lead to irreversible consequences such as death or disability, its consequences can have a long-term negative impact on a person's health, primarily neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and post-traumatic dementia.
As the U.S. military has been involved in conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the incidence of traumatic brain injuries has increased dramatically.
"Injuries to the hippocampus, cortical and thalamic regions contribute to long-term cognitive damage," said study co-author Dr. Paul Sandberg. "Research shows that functional and cognitive impairments are a consequence of traumatic brain injury."
TBI involves both acute and chronic stages, as scientists have demonstrated in an experiment on mice. The scientists say the experiment will help better understand and identify therapeutic “targets” for treatment after the acute stage.
“Our study examined the long-term pathological consequences of TBI in various brain regions, such as the dorsal striatum, thalamus, corpus callosum, hippocampus, and cerebral peduncles,” the researchers explain. “We found that extensive neuroinflammation after TBI triggers a second wave of cell death, which reduces cell proliferation and impedes the brain’s regenerative capacity.”
After examining the rat brain eight weeks after injury, the researchers found "significant upregulation of activated microglial cells, not only in the area of direct injury but also in adjacent and distant areas."
The location of the inflammation correlates with cell loss and impaired cell proliferation, the researchers say. Microglia cells act as the first and primary form of immune defense in the central nervous system and make up 20 percent of the total glial cell population in the brain. They are distributed throughout the brain and spinal cord.
"Our studies showed that cell proliferation was significantly impaired by the neuroinflammatory cascade," the authors comment.
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