Researchers at Tufts University and Oxford University have discovered that head trauma may activate latent viruses in the brain, leading to inflammation and damage that can contribute to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. This finding suggests the potential for antiviral drugs as early preventive treatments after head injuries.
Tufts UniversityJan 7 2025 Concussions and repetitive head trauma in sports like football and boxing, once accepted as an unpleasant consequence of intense athletic competition, are now recognized as serious health threats.
Dana Cairns, research associate in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Tufts University and lead author of the study, had found evidence in earlier studies suggesting that activation of HSV-1 from its dormant state triggers the signature symptoms of Alzheimer's disease in lab models of brain tissue-amyloid plaques, neuronal loss, inflammations, and diminished neural network functionality.
The brain tissue model consists of a 6mm wide donut-shaped sponge-like material made of silk protein and collagen, suffused with neural stem cells, which are then coaxed into mature neurons, growing axons and dendrite extensions and forming a network. Glial cells also emerge from the stem cells to help mimic the brain environment and nurture the neurons. The neurons communicate with each other through their extensions similarly to how they would communicate in a brain.
The results were a strong indicator that athletes suffering concussions could be triggering reactivation of latent infections in the brain that can lead to Alzheimer's disease. Epidemiological studies have shown that multiple blows to the head can lead to doubling or even greater chances of having a neurodegenerative condition months or years down the line.
VIRUSES HEAD INJURIES NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES ANTIVIRAL DRUGS BRAIN TRAUMA
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