How head injuries cause long-term nerve-fiber damage and raise dementia risk
Axonal Pathology and TBI-Related Neurodegeneration (TReND)
This project compares people with a single moderate/severe head injury or repeated mild head injuries to see how those injuries cause lasting nerve-fiber damage and increase the chance of Alzheimer’s and related dementias.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Pennsylvania NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Philadelphia, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11261136 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you had one moderate or severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) or many mild TBIs, this work compares your brain changes with people who had normal aging or Alzheimer’s disease to understand long-term effects. The team focuses on diffuse axonal injury — damage to the brain’s nerve fibers — and examines whether some axons repair while others go on to degenerate. They combine brain tissue examinations, clinical histories, and imaging or biomarker data to map how TBI-related pathologies evolve over time. The goal is to clarify how different forms of TBI lead to Alzheimer-like and other dementia-related changes.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates include people with a history of a single moderate or severe TBI or those with repetitive mild head injuries, especially if they can provide clinical follow-up or brain-tissue donation.
Not a fit: People without any history of head injury or whose cognitive problems stem from unrelated causes may not directly benefit from this specific research.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help identify which people with past TBIs are most at risk for dementia and point to treatments that protect or repair nerve fibers.
How similar studies have performed: Previous research has linked TBI to later dementia and CTE, but focused human studies on axonal repair versus degeneration as a driver of TBI-related neurodegeneration are relatively new.
Where this research is happening
Philadelphia, United States
- University of Pennsylvania — Philadelphia, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Smith, Douglas Hamilton — University of Pennsylvania
- Study coordinator: Smith, Douglas Hamilton
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.