Mild brain injury can raise dementia risk, study says
By MARILYNN MARCHIONE AP Medical Writer July 19, 2011 12:52AM
Ryan Lamke posses for a photograph in Washington on Thursday, July 14, 2011. Lamke was a corporal in the Marine Corps and served as an infantry assault man in Iraq. While in Fallujah, Iraq in 2005, he sustained traumatic brain injury, orthopedic injuries to his left arm and post traumatic stress disorder(.AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
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Updated: July 19, 2011 2:09AM
A large study in older veterans raises fresh concern about mild brain injuries that hundreds of thousands of troops have suffered from explosions in recent wars. Even concussions seem to raise the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, researchers found.
Closed-head brain injuries are a legacy of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Body armor is helping troops survive bombs, but long-term effects are unknown.
The study, reported Monday at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in France, challenge the current view that only moderate or severe brain injuries predispose people to dementia. AP
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