Traumatic Brain Injury as a Risk Factor for Dementia: Concomitant Risks and 
   Lead Investigator:    Jonathan Spiegel
   Institution      :    NYU Center for Brain Health
   E-Mail           :    jonathan_spiegel@brown.edu
   Proposal ID      :    583



   Proposal Description:
   We aim to demonstrate the possible concomitant pathologies present in post TBI    demtia patients. Evidence indicates those with TBI have a tauopathy called CTE    that can result. Other research has demonstrated TBI to increase risk of AD and                                                                                   other dementias. It is possible that this increased risk may be due to the        development of a CTE or CTE-like tauopathy that can occur alongside other         dementias (such as AD). This study aims to demonstrate wether post-TBI AD         patients have more severe tauopathy and less severe amyloid pathology than AD     patients of similar cognitive dysfunction, as well as to examine                  symptomatically if they have higher CTE-like symptoms than their matched AD       counterparts (a phenomenon demonstrated by Sayed et al. 2013 J. of                Neurotrauma). Additionally, this study will aim to examine if any two (or more)                                                                                   way interaction exists with age, race, ethnicity or gender on TBI's risk factor                                                                                  for development of dementia. These findings would be of great value in            prognosis following traumatic brain injury, a highly prevalent occurence, in      addition to potentially helping with criterion for clincal trials for various     medications.