Single traumatic brain injury can result in accumulation of tau protein, study reveals

Researchers from Imperial College London (UK) have discovered tau protein tangles, which are indicative of neurodegeneration, in the brains of patients who have experienced a single severe head injury. The paper, published in Science Translational Medicine, presents flortaucipir PET as a potential diagnostic tool for neurodegenerative conditions linked to tau protein accumulation. “While we know tau tangles are associated with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, we are only beginning to understand how brain trauma might lead to their formation,” explained first author Nikos Gorgoraptis (Imperial College London). Utilizing the radioligand flortaucipir as an indicator of tau protein levels, the...