A new study performed on head injury victims has made a link between sufferers of severe head injury with loss of consciousness and a higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease later in life. The risk amongst the severe head injury patients was found to be 11 times greater according to the study’s author from the Mayo Clinic.
There were three explanations for the findings produced by the study team. One explanation was that when a head injury is suffered the blood brain barrier is disrupted so certain poisons from the bloodstream can get into the brain and lead to cell death, which can take years to happen. The head injury may also cause brain cells to produce new proteins that can lead to cell death, or the least likely explanation according to the study author is that following a head injury some cells are lost and with aging and cell death it can reach a point when Parkinson’s develops.