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[NOTE: We send this news release as printed, along with the companion stories on brain wounds/CTE, in hopes that the reader will more fully understand both the links between trauma-related events, and the need to immediately intervene with brain-wound healing interventions like Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy to reverse the degenerative cycle.]

New data validates an association between trauma-related disorders and the development of Parkinson’s disease in military veterans

International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society

27 Aug, 2023
COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Aug. 27, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ —

In a study of nearly 360,000 military veteran records released earlier this year in the Movement Disorders journal, researchers provide evidence that traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), both trauma-related disorders, are risk factors for Parkinson’s disease (PD).

While this correlation has long been suspected, the results of this study validate the hypothesis with the researchers’ case-controlled approach and consideration of comorbidities. This study further suggests that these common war-related illnesses may ignite biochemical changes that precede and fuel the development of Parkinson’s disease decades later.

“While a link between head trauma and the later emergence of Parkinson’s has been widely accepted for some time, this paper is of interest for several reasons,” said Dr. Jon Stoessl, University of British Columbia and editor of the Movement Disorders Journal. “Similar to a prior report (White et al., Ann Neurol 2020), the authors have identified an independent and synergistic link between PTSD and PD. They examined a large cohort (nearly 72,000 cases and nearly 290,000 matched controls from the VA database), used a minimum lag time of 5 years between exposure and PD diagnosis, and have gone back as long as 60 years prior to the emergence of PD. Applying an unusual degree of rigor for this type of research, the authors ascertained a diagnosis of PD based on chart review by a movement disorders specialist in addition to administrative (diagnostic code and prescription) data. They furthermore restricted the definition of TBI and PTSD to events that occurred during active military service. The odds ratio (OR) for PD in those with TBI range from 1.5-2.0 (depending upon time of exposure) and for PTSD, the OR was 1.7-1.8. The findings not only confirm the importance of earlier TBI as a risk factor for later PD, but also point to the independent and synergistic importance of PTSD in future neurodegeneration. The findings thus have important implications for understanding the pathogenesis of PD and for the consideration of novel preventative and disease modifying approaches.”

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In two related stories, links between footbal concussions and subconcussive hits and brain damage were studied. In the first study, comparing volleyball and football players, advanced MRI scans showed significantly divergent microstructural brain changes among college football players, particularly those who experienced concussive blows, and college volleyball players over four years.

“This study highlights the important role of white matter, which is not always fully appreciated in neurologic disease. We know that, during normal development, brain white matter [a good thing] increases in volume until a person reaches the mid-40s,” he said. “We see here that football, in particular, [negatively] affects white matter development compared with volleyball; in addition, severity of brain injury is relevant because football players who experienced concussions had more damage than those who only had subconcussive blows. This observation supports the idea that there is a form of head injury somewhere between a concussion and no injury at all.”

In the second study, researchers leveraged football accelerometer data to quantify associations between repetitive head impacts and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in males. The findings implicate cumulative head impact intensity in CTE pathogenesis. Years of football played is positively associated with CTE pathology.

A total of 631 brain donors who played American tackle football were included in the study. . . . On average, athletes died at 59.7 years old and played 12.5 years of football. 180 athletes (29%) did not have CTE, 163 (25%) had low-stage CTE (Stage I or II), and 288 (47%) had high-stage CTE (Stage III or IV).

Science is cumulative. Data help “prove” hypotheses. Testing and research and observed outcomes advance our understanding of cause and effect. Our experience and 20 years of research on brain wounds/TBI/PTSD show both negative consequences of brain wounds, from any source, and the positive effects of using Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy to help heal those brain wounds.

Healing brain wounds and arresting suicidal ideation is akin to polio vaccine. About 16,000 cases of polio (paralytic poliomyelitis) occurred each year in the U.S. in the 20th century compared with none in 2020. In over 21,000 cases where patients received a full course of HBOT treatment, the record of success in avoiding suicide is over 99%.

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The TreatNOW Mission is ending service member suicides. Along the way, we have learned that we can help heal the symptoms and effects of acute concussion/TBI/PTSD by helping heal brain wounds.

Heal Brains. Stop Suicides. Restore Lives. TreatNOW

Information provided by TreatNOW.org does not constitute a medical recommendation. It is intended for informational purposes only, and no claims, either real or implied, are being made.