Can Brain Injuries and Concussions Age the Brain?

Studies indicate that brain injuries and concussions may have an affect on the way a brain ages, even thirty or more years after the fact. Concussions are a better indicator because there are fewer deficits than those who have suffered from a brain injury.

Early acute findings following an injury are only the tip of the iceberg as researchers discover post-concussion that there is a decline in memory, inability to update their memories, attention difficulties, executive function problems and slowing of movements. These are all indications of the difference between those who have previously had a concussion and those who have not.

Post-concussion symptoms may show, even months or years later as: attention deficits, impulsiveness or irritability, low frustration levels, temper outbursts and mood changes, dizziness and headaches, and learning and memory problems. Brain injuries, depending on the severity, may show additional deficits such as: lack of motivation, problem solving difficulties, cognitive deficits, emotional and behavioral problems, short term memory loss and lack of judgment to name some of them.

As those who have a history of concussions age, they may have difficulty in how quickly they remember names and places, an inability to quickly come up with specific words or to recall events. Research indicates that the concussed brain seems to be biologically older than the non-injured brain. Tests show that a fifty year old who had a concussion, even thirty years previously, has a similar brain to that of an uninjured sixty year old.

There appears to be a premature aging of the brain as a consequence of past concussions, however, even a lone event can impact the brain. To ward off this accelerated deterioration of the brain, it is important to do brain training, i.e.: exercising, reading, puzzles and learning new things.

Considering the seriousness of even a single concussion, those who play football are at an even greater risk. Football players receive an average of 950 hits to the head each season. Hockey players, and all those who play contact sports, are also at risk.

Because of these high risk factors, researchers are conducting tests to determine whether those who have received concussions or brain injuries have an increased chance of getting Alzheimer's Disease when they get older. Dementia is also considered more of a risk for those who have received either injury.

The lesson to be learned in this is to do all that can be done to avoid concussions or brain injuries by taking safety precautions in everything that is done. But if one should occur, it will be important to do all that is required to become healthy again by resting, taking rehabilitation and following a doctor's instructions.