As most of us know, tonight is the annual rivalry football game between the Arizona State Sun Devils and the Arizona Wildcats. In addition to our very intense rivalry game, there are tons of significant rivalry games across the US today. That being said, there's always a lot of clammer leading up to a rivalry game including phrases from team to team that hint at wanting to "kill" the opponent or at least "knock their heads off their shoulders". All of this rivalry talk got me thinking about the significance of head injuries to neurodegenerative diseases. The findings were not too surprising:
I came across a Cambridge University study that inadvertently focused on the significance of brain injury and Alzheimer's that was published just two weeks ago! The researchers used a very simple cultured-cell model to examine the activity of a specific protein called Tubulin Associated Protein Unit (Tau). They noted that many post-death brain examinations of Alzheimer's patients yield the discovery of high amounts of abnormally-clumped Tau protein throughout the brain. The researchers introduced the Tau protein to the cell culture (raised to behave like brain and nervous cells) and observed a new phenomenon. They saw that when Tau is introduced to the outside of the cells, they immediately begin to endocytose the extracellular Tau protein. As the protein was endocytosed it clumped very quickly inside of the cells; they very significantly noted that Tau already in the cell before endocytosis also began to clump abnormally even if it did not come into contact with the extracellular Tau.
The researchers go on to note that in the human model, they would expect Tau escaping from brain tissues to leak and cause similar behavior. They note that one very likely method for Tau to leak comes from damage incurred from significant head trauma. The researchers do, however, admit that this is a very preliminary model and that they will use it to evolve future studies. They will focus on the source of extracellular Tau and where it meets normal Tau as it is endocytosed.
Now I'm really rootin' for a Wildcats' victory today, but after reading this, I can honestly say that I hope for no Sun Devil's head to be knocked from their shoulders. It will be interesting to see new studies emerging from these preliminary findings, perhaps a study including American football players (or other contact sports) and their prevalence of Alzheimer's Disease.
Go 'Cats!
Sources:
-Medical News Today: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/269460.php
-Cambridge Press Release: http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/protein-released-from-cells-triggers-chain-reactions-that-could-cause-alzheimers-disease
--The published study: http://www.jbc.org/content/early/2013/11/14/jbc.M113.515445.full.pdf
I think that this study shows how a combination of environmental and genetic risk factors can contribute to the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases! I researched online that multiple sclerosis patients also have elevated levels of Tau protein, so I think that this could also play a role in the pathophysiology of MS (1).
ReplyDeleteSources:
"Research: Tau in MS." Multiple Sclerosis Research: Research: Tau in MS. Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, 7 May 2012. Web. 30 Nov. 2013.
I feel like it makes a lot of sense that brain trauma and neurodegenerative diseases are likely to be linked. When your brain undergoes a lot of trauma and suffers a number of injuries, you are killing brain cells and, at least to some extent, damaging your brain. I'm sure a lot of brain trauma can't be the best thing for your brain. Thus, when you age, it would make sense that the effects from all the trauma would show, allowing for neurodegenerative diseases to be more likely.
ReplyDeleteIts interesting to think that head trauma can cause damage to tissue or at least issues to tissues not directly impacted by the trauma itself. It will be interesting if they determine why the tau is immediately endocytosed into the neural tissue and why it clumps. Definitely something to keep an eye on.
ReplyDeleteI think that this associated absolutely makes sense! Damage to the head inescapably leads to some kind of damage to the brain and associated tissues. It's really awesome that you found that article, especially when the game was about to happen! And a study which follows former sports players, especially football, later in life and prevalence of Alzheimer's would be incredibly interesting...
ReplyDeleteIn accordance with what people have previously stated, it totally makes sense that such head trauma would have relation to diseases like Alzheimer's. I remember reading about somewhere about effects neurologically as well as psychologically to football players after repetitive head trauma. I mean imagine all that damage to your lobes! Anyhow, I had been searching for other articles on Google and found this one by ABC news from the beginning of September (link below). It was reported that the average player takes 900-1500 head shots per season! It was also reported that studies have shown that football players are 4 times more likely to die from Alzheimer's or Lou Gehrig's disease (another neurodegenerative disease affecting the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, which are involved in voluntary movement). It indeed would be interesting to see what other studies have been done the prevalence of neurological disorders as a whole in football players versus the general public.
ReplyDeletehttp://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/football-players-greater-risk-alzheimers-lou-gehrigs-17164957
I am glad you posted this article about the potential of repeated head trauma leading to neurodegenerative diseases. Professional football player Brett Favre, who is 44 years old, has recently said that he suffers from memory lapses as a result of the concussions he's received by playing football. He stated that he'd forgotten an entire summer when his daughter played youth soccer, and also states that if he had a son, he would be reluctant to letting him play football. This just proves the potential brain damage football players face every time they step out on the field. It goes to show how football players can potentially develop a neurodegenerative disease, if a professional football player, who has made millions of dollars playing this sport, has come out and mentioned his memory struggles.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2507998/Brett-Favre-suffers-memory-lapses-concussions.html
Brain trauma leading to degenerative neuro disease is something that is really scary. There are so many different ways someone can injure their head. Head injuries while playing a sport are probably one of the most common. I know that football players get concussions when they don’t even realize it. I’m shocked from Julianne’s comment about players taking 900 head shots per season. I think that this is a very dangerous kind of trauma when one is oblivious of having a concussion. Now reading about it being linked to degenerative neuro diseases like Alzheimer’s is really terrible.
ReplyDeletevery interesting article, it seems like the extent of damage from a brain trauma is more severe in people who had ADHD (children at least) "Patients who sustain mild TBIs in the setting of a premorbid diagnosis of ADHD are more likely to be moderately disabled by the injury than are patients without ADHD."
ReplyDeletehttp://thejns.org/doi/full/10.3171/2013.5.PEDS12424