U. study links Alzheimer's, head trauma

In a landmark study, a Penn research group has, for the first time, linked the causes of Alzheimer's disease to specific environmental factors. Neurosurgery Professor Douglas Smith, the lead author, along with a team of Medical School scientists, found evidence suggesting that head trauma from automobile-related accidents can trigger the ultimately fatal degenerative disease. Until Smith's findings, researchers believed that the disease -- which causes a gradual loss of memory-related functions and mainly afflicts the elderly -- was purely genetic. But after doing experiments on pigs, the Penn scientists realized that theory was incorrect. "Within days of head trauma, factors that contribute to the development of Alzheimer's form in the brain," Smith said in an interview. "Our study suggests that even moderate brain injury resulting from a tremendous change in velocity can cause axonal damage sufficient to launch an insidiously progressive degenerative process [such as Alzheimer's]," Smith said. Using an animal model, the researchers duplicated the same type of head trauma that victims of certain types of automobile accidents experience. Simple safety precautions, like wearing head protection gear when riding a motorcycle or bicycle and wearing seat belts, can help reduce the possibility of brain-related injuries and thus the contraction of illnesses like Alzheimer's. This discovery could eventually lead to a cure. "I'm not suggesting that we have a cure," Smith said. "However, we now have a model that gives us more insight and awareness than we had before." Smith hopes his research will lead to an increased commitment to educate citizens about the specific risk-reduction behaviors that prevent head trauma or diminish its severity. While these injuries show that even mild head trauma can trigger Alzheimer's-like pathology, Smith said he is not suggesting that simple whiplash is enough to cause concern. Though a cure for Alzheimer's is still probably far off, the research explains more about the once mysterious disorder that affects 4 million Americans -- the fourth-leading cause of death among adults. "The more insight we have into the causes of Alzheimer's," Smith explained, the closer science will be to finding a cure.