Traumatic brain injury, changes in plasma amyloid, tau, and neurodegenerative biomarkers, and dementia risk
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: INTRODUCTION Long‐term trajectories of plasma biomarkers in relation to incident traumatic brain injury (TBI) and whether TBI modifies associations of biomarkers with dementia risk are unknown. METHODS One thousand fifty Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study participants without prior TBI had amyloid beta (Aβ 42 /Aβ 40 ), phosphorylated‐tau181 (pTau181), neurofilament light (NfL), and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) measured from plasma collected in 1993 to 1995, 2011 to 2013, and 2016 to 2019. Linear mixed‐effects models estimated biomarker trajectories associated with TBI and Cox proportional hazards models determined if TBI modified associations of biomarkers with incident dementia through December 31, 2020. RESULTS After the median time of incident TBI, Aβ 42 /Aβ 40 levels remained lower for 9.3 years, and pTau181, NfL, and GFAP remained elevated for 8.5, >13.8, and 12.7 years, respectively. There was evidence of additive interaction by TBI in associations of log 2 NfL with incident dementia ( p = 0.024). DISCUSSION TBI alters trajectories of plasma biomarkers of neurodegeneration for approximately a decade after the injury and modifies associations of NfL with dementia risk. Highlights Our findings provide evidence that TBI fundamentally alters trajectories of plasma biomarkers of AD‐related pathology, neuronal degeneration, and astrogliosis for approximately a decade after the injury. Further, our findings also suggest that an incident TBI event adds to and interacts with ongoing neurodegenerative processes to increase the risk of later life dementia. These results suggest that the pathologic processes underlying post‐TBI dementia are heterogeneous, that individuals with preclinical changes in neurodegenerative biomarkers may be more susceptible to TBI (i.e., that associations are bidirectional), or a combination thereof.
Source: Alzheimer s & Dementia
DOI: 10.1002/alz.70611
Language: English
Subfield: Epidemiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,200
Funders: U.S. Department of Defense, National Institute for Health and Care Research, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs
Awards: G124418500, G1518371162, G1623886336, G1924893021, G2195207551, G2339050794, G2801165751, G2889674361, Blood Pressure and ADRD in African Americans: the Jackson Heart Study, Physical Activity and Preservation of Cognitive Function, G354227350, TRAJECTORIES OF NEUROIMAGING AND BLOOD-BASED BIOMARKERS AFTER REMOTE TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY AND ASSOCIATIONS WITH DEMENTIA RISK, G421917476, ARIC Neurocognitive Study (ARIC-NCS) Renewal UNC 4 of 5, G4819198047, G4846232932, G4961862235, G5267790454, G5364873420, G54938809, G583528397, G5954722477, G6265038979, G6418484092, ARIC Neurocognitive Study (ARIC-NCS) Renewal 2 of 5, ARIC Neurocognitive Study (ARIC-NCS), G6978868085, G7243995979, G7276788223, TRAJECTORIES OF NEUROIMAGING AND BLOOD-BASED BIOMARKERS AFTER REMOTE TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY AND ASSOCIATIONS WITH DEMENTIA RISK, G9000005794, G9000028535, G9000062377, G9000076324, G9000079369, Clinical Validation of Serum Neurofilament Light as a Biomarker of Traumatic Axonal Injury
OpenAlex ID: W4414167685