Brain Pathol. 2011 Jun 29;
Authors: Johnson VE, Stewart W, Smith DH
Whilst a history of single traumatic brain injury (TBI) is associated with the later development of syndromes of cognitive impairment, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), the long-term pathology evolving after single TBI is poorly understood. However, a progressive tauopathy, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, is described in selected cohorts with a history of repetitive concussive / mild head injury. Here, post-mortem brains from long-term survivors of just a single TBI (1 to 47 years survival; n = 39) versus uninjured, age-matched controls (n = 47) were examined for neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) and amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques using immunohistochemistry and thioflavin-S staining. Detailed maps of findings permitted classification of pathology using semi-quantitative scoring systems.NFTs were exceptionally rare in young, uninjured controls, yet were abundant and widely distributed in approximately one third of TBI cases. In addition, Aβ-plaques were found in a greater density following TBI versus controls. Moreover, thioflavin-S staining revealed that while all plaque-positive control cases displayed predominantly diffuse plaques, 64% of plaque-positive TBI cases, displayed predominantly thioflavin-S positive plaques or a mixed thioflavin-S positive / diffuse pattern. These data demonstrate widespread NFT and Aβ plaque pathologies are present in a proportion of patients following a single TBI, suggesting that some individuals who experience a single TBI may develop long-term neuropathological changes akin to those found in neurodegenerative disease.
PMID: 21714827 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
