Autopsy study finds complex spinal protein pathology in people with chronic traumatic encephalopathy
Original source
Spinal Cord Tau and Protein Copathologies Associated With Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. (opens in a new tab)Compass summarised this from the study's abstract.
Study details
- Studied in
- Human
Related topics
An autopsy study found spinal tau deposits in all 20 people whose brains showed chronic traumatic encephalopathy neuropathologic change. Among 14 older participants with this brain pathology and a history of repetitive head impacts, many also had spinal TDP-43, amyloid-beta and alpha-synuclein deposits. The study linked spinal tau pathology with motor symptoms and microglial activation.
Why this matters
The findings may help researchers understand how repetitive head impacts are associated with changes in the spinal cord and motor symptoms. They do not show that these changes cause amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or change treatment for people with ALS or motor neurone disease.
Limitations and context
This was a retrospective case-control autopsy study of 70 people, including 20 with chronic traumatic encephalopathy neuropathologic change. The participants came from a brain-bank collaboration, so the findings may not represent people with repetitive head-impact exposure generally. The study shows associations in donated tissue, not causation, and it did not test a treatment or establish an effect on ALS or motor neurone disease.