Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Even Small Injuries To Head Can Significantly Increase Chances Of Dementia
San Jose Mercury News: Concussions Boost Risk Of Dementia
In the first study of its kind, Bay Area researchers have found that mild brain injury – a head bang that creates a dazed feeling, but not unconsciousness – more than doubles the risk of dementia. ... This study confirmed that link, finding risk of dementia was 3.77 times higher for those with moderate to severe trauma at any time in life, compared to those who never had a brain injury, according to researchers from UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences and the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Health Care System. (Krieger, 5/7)
San Francisco Chronicle: Even Milder Concussions Double Dementia Risk, UCSF Study Finds
Dizzying knocks to the head trigger dementia later in life in proportion to the severity of the resulting concussion, according to the study by UCSF’s Weill Institute for Neurosciences and the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Health Care System. The risk is there, though, whether it was a knockout blow or a staggering shot that only left the victim woozy, said the study of military veterans published Monday in the medical journal JAMA Neurology. (Fimrite, 5/7)
Los Angeles Times: In Veterans, Even A Mild Case Of Traumatic Brain Injury Is Linked To An Increased Risk Of Dementia
Mild traumatic brain injury may sound like an oxymoron, along the lines of "jumbo shrimp" or "random order." But a new study shows that mild TBIs can have serious consequences for military veterans by raising their risk of dementia. Researchers who examined the medical records of more than 350,000 Americans who served during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan found that men and women who experienced at least one mild TBI were more than twice as likely as their uninjured peers to develop dementia after they retired from the military. (Kaplan, 5/7)
