History of Concussions Linked to Alzheimer's


Whether you are a healthcare provider, a family caregiver or the manager of your own care, you have access to medical history. If you or the person in your care have had concussions in the past, the risks of developing Alzheimer’s disease is higher.

Recent research at the Mayo Clinic has uncovered a stronger link to Alzheimer’s and a history of concussions, according to published results recently shared in Neurology.

The study included 589 individuals, all older than 70. Of the study participants, 141 had documented cognitive issues, while 448 had no history of memory problems.

Interestingly, both groups were about as likely to have had concussions in the past – 17 percent of those with no memory issues and 18 percent of those with cognition issues, yet those who had a history of concussions and cognition issues had an 18 percent higher chance among all groups to have amyloid plaques.

Amyloid plaques have shown a correlation to the development of Alzheimer’s.

“What we think it suggests is, head trauma is associated with Alzheimer’s-type dementia – it’s a risk factor,” head researcher Michelle Mielke told U.S. News & World Report.

This new data could provide senior care services personnel with an additional background question to ask when developing the best care protocols for their patients.