Charting the Next Frontier in Brain Health: From Disease Management to Prevention and Detection

Every nine seconds an American sustains a brain injury. It’s a leading cause of death and disability across the country. More than 5.3 million people are living with a permanent brain injury-related disability, and at least 2.8 million Americans experience a traumatic brain injury (TBI) every year, usually resulting from a violent jolt to the head, according to the Brain Injury Association of America.

People with moderate to severe TBI face a variety of chronic health problems, the CDC reports. Their life expectancy is nine years shorter, their risk of dying from seizures is 50 times higher, and among those still alive five years after injury, 57 percent are disabled.

This is a misdiagnosed, misunderstood, and underfunded neurological disease. Across the healthcare community and society at large, we need to expand our understanding of traumatic brain injuries, reduce stigma, and improve care and support. We need to commit to brain health and drive awareness year-round—awareness that leads to tangible steps towards meaningful change. We need to transform by putting people’s needs first, aided by new research and technology that facilitates diagnosis. And we need to shift from downstream disease management to early detection and care. ?Prevention is of course best of all.?

Understanding Traumatic Brain Injuries and CTE

First, let’s reorient our understanding of who is affected.

Nearly half of traumatic brain injuries are caused by falls, and TBIs are a significant problem in older adults. Only about 17 percent of TBIs are from being struck by something, and 13 percent are from motor vehicle accidents.

TBIs can progress into chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease caused by head traumas from episodic, repetitive or even particularly harmful single blunt force impacts. Symptoms of CTE can include cognitive impairment—memory loss, difficulty planning or executing tasks—behavioral issues such as aggression, mood disorders including anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts, and motor issues similar to those seen in Parkinson’s disease.

CTE may be most visible in professional athletes who play contact sports, as an estimated 3.8 million sports-related concussions occur annually across the country. But according to a recent report in The New York Times, research shows that survivors of abuse may sustain head trauma even more often than football players, and they are rarely diagnosed. From victims of domestic violence to military veterans to people who have injured their heads in accidents or falls, there is an entire population out there who are concerned they may have this condition.

One of the most feared consequences of TBIs is dementia. Multiple studies have shown that people who experience a traumatic brain injury in early to midlife have an increased risk of later in life developing dementia—and with moderate to severe TBIs, the risk is two to four times higher.

There is no cure for CTE, and currently, the disease can only be detected after death, via autopsy. But there is hope in research being conducted to identify biomarkers that would allow the disease to be diagnosed in the living.

Taking Key Steps Towards Preparation, Prevention and Early Detection

From a prevention standpoint, it’s vital that we are informed on how to improve sports safety, how to prevent falls in older adults, and how to increase motor vehicle safety.

It’s equally important that we commit to taking care of our brain health, proactively and consistently. Good nutrition is essential for healthy brain function, because the brain needs nutrients to provide energy to fuel the nerves, support neurotransmitter production, and protect against stress. Nutrients to look out for, which support the brain—particularly for individuals involved in contact sports—include ketones, such as BHB, which are neuroprotective and provide an alternate fuel source for both injured and uninjured brains; BCAAs, which are important precursors to neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin; and DHA, an essential fatty acid that supports cognitive function and learning ability.

In collaboration with doctors and researchers at the Mayo Clinic, Thorne has developed a unique formula, Synaquell+, containing nutrients that provide nutritional support to those individuals who need post-impact brain support.

Looking Ahead

As a society, we are seeing a powerful shift from chronic and late-stage disease management to early detection and treatment. It’s crucial that we come together—researchers, healthcare providers, diagnostics professionals, health tech leaders, the medical community as a whole—to work towards a future where CTE can be diagnosed in living patients, a future where early detection saves lives, a future where we can unleash the power of science and technology to chart the next frontier in healthcare.

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