Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have found that obesity can extend the duration of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) symptoms.
This is likely due to higher inflammation levels in the body. Their findings were published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.
The Experiment
The researchers checked two groups of patients who had recently suffered an mTBI, those with obesity and those with a healthy weight.
They collected blood samples to test for inflammation markers and monitored the patients’ symptoms over a year.
This is the first study to check if obesity affects how long it takes to recover from mTBI and if it worsens symptoms due to inflammation.
The Problem with Mild Brain Injuries
Although it’s called “mild,” an mTBI can lead to serious problems. About half of people who go to the emergency room after an mTBI still have problems a year later.
While treatments like physical therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy can help, patients with ongoing inflammation often take longer to recover and have worse symptoms.
The Role of Inflammation in Obesity and Brain Injury
The researchers focused on two inflammation markers, hsCRP and IL-6. The hsCRP protein, produced by the liver, signals increased inflammation in the body.
IL-6, on the other hand, boosts inflammation by allowing inflammatory proteins to be expressed.
In patients with obesity, hsCRP levels were higher on the day of the injury and stayed high for up to six months. Their IL-6 levels were also higher and remained so for up to a year.
This suggests that obesity can make inflammation worse after an mTBI, slowing recovery and worsening symptoms.
Obesity and Incomplete Recovery from Brain Injury
While not many people with obesity failed to recover fully compared to healthy-weight individuals, they did have longer-lasting symptoms.
Assessments six months and a year after injury showed that their mTBI symptoms were more severe and lasted longer.
What Does This Mean for Treating Brain Injuries?
Past research has separately linked both obesity and mTBI to inflammation. And studies in animals have examined how obesity affects recovery from brain injuries.
However, this is the first study to explore how obesity could affect inflammation and mTBI symptoms in humans.
The researchers hope to build on these findings to develop treatments that reduce inflammation and improve overall health for patients with obesity after an mTBI.
Their findings also suggest that doctors should consider obesity as a risk factor for poor responses to mTBI.
If you care about health, please read studies about a major breakthrough in diabetes treatment, and this drug for inflammation may increase your diabetes risk within days.
For more information about health, please see recent studies that cruciferous vegetables may help reverse kidney damage in diabetes, and results showing Vitamin D and this hormone may prevent heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.
The study was published in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.
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