Lund [Sweden], February 15 : A study reveals that traumatic brain injury alters the small vessels in the brain, resulting in an accumulation of amyloid beta a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. The findings suggest that vascular dysfunction could be an early driver in neurodegenerative disorders rather than being caused by neuronal damage.
A research team at the strategic research area MultiPark, Lund University, argues that the blood vessels in the brain hold the keys to future therapies. Brain trauma usually impairs cerebral blood flow, possibly through pathological changes in the vascular smooth muscle cells in the vascular wall.
Niklas Marklund, professor at Lund University and neurosurgical consultant at Skane University Hospital, took a deeper look into the molecular details with the experimental scientist Ilknur Ozen.
In collaboration with Uppsala University, they investigated brain tissue from 15 patients, surgically removed due to bleeding and swelling within a week following their traumatic brain injuries.
They found that the changes in the vascular smooth muscle cells coincided with increased aggregation of amyloid-beta, a protein linked to Alzheimer's disease.
"We were surprised to see that even young patients displayed this accumulation of amyloid beta together with the vascular alterations caused by the brain trauma," says Ilknur Ozen, first author of the study.
She continues: "Our findings suggest that vascular changes may be more important for neurodegeneration than previously thought."
Niklas Marklund adds: "This challenges the existing paradigm in neurodegeneration-related diseases by indicating that vascular dysfunction could be an early event that triggers the progression of amyloid-related diseases rather than being caused by neuronal damage."
While ageing leads to functional changes in the vasculature, brain trauma may exacerbate and accelerate these processes even in younger patients.
Still, far from everybody affected by brain trauma develops Alzheimer's disease. "We are not there yet, but hopefully, increased knowledge about what happens at a molecular level in the blood vessel cells following brain trauma will open up possibilities for novel treatments," concludes Niklas Marklund.
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