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Traumatic brain injury and amyloid-β pathology: a link to Alzheimer's disease?

Nature Reviews Neuroscience volume 11, pages361–370(2010)Cite this article

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Abstract

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has devastating acute effects and in many cases seems to initiate long-term neurodegeneration. Indeed, an epidemiological association between TBI and the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD) later in life has been demonstrated, and it has been shown that amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques — one of the hallmarks of AD — may be found in patients within hours following TBI. Here, we explore the mechanistic underpinnings of the link between TBI and AD, focusing on the hypothesis that rapid Aβ plaque formation may result from the accumulation of amyloid precursor protein in damaged axons and a disturbed balance between Aβ genesis and catabolism following TBI.

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Figure 1: Immunohistochemical findings exploring mechanisms of amyloid-β plaque formation following traumatic brain injury.
Figure 2: Potential mechanisms of post-traumatic amyloid-β formation and clearance.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by US National Institutes of Health grants NS038104 and NS056202.

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  1. Department of Neurosurgery, Victoria E. Johnson is at the Penn Center for Brain Injury and Repair, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 3320 Smith Walk, Hayden Hall 105, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA, and at the University of Glasgow, University Avenue, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK.

    Victoria E. Johnson

  2. William Stewart is at the Department of Neuropathology, Southern General Hospital, 1345 Govan Road, Glasgow G51 4TF, UK, and at the University of Glasgow.

    William Stewart

  3. Department of Neurosurgery, Douglas H. Smith is at the Penn Center for Brain Injury and Repair, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 3320 Smith Walk, Hayden Hall 105, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA

    Douglas H. Smith

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  1. Victoria E. Johnson
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Correspondence to Douglas H. Smith.

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Johnson, V., Stewart, W. & Smith, D. Traumatic brain injury and amyloid-β pathology: a link to Alzheimer's disease?. Nat Rev Neurosci 11, 361–370 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2808

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