Alzheimer’s Disease
Dementia has been observed to follow a single
injury to the head. Repeated blows to the head have been
associated with boxers (dementia pugilistica).
While there are
no studies we’ve been able to find
on chiropractic and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) we have
found a number of papers from medical journals dealing with
the relationship between head trauma, Alzheimer’s disease
and dementia. The majority of the studies do find an association
between head injuries and AD. Some are included below.
A further
comment or two: Can we conclude that spinal and/or cranial
care of a child or adult who has had a head trauma may prevent
the development of AD and dementia later in life? The possibility
exists. In none of the below studies cited were any of the
head trauma victims asked if they had chiropractic, cranio-sacral,
osteopathic or other forms of structural care after their
injuries. Sine the papers are from medical journals, non-medical
care is ignored as if it does not exist. That is a weakness
of all the medical studies reviewed.
Documented head injury
in early adulthood and risk of Alzheimer’s
disease and other dementias. Plassman BL, Havlik RJ, Steffens
DC et al Neurology 2000;55:1158-1166
Researchers from the US
National Institute on Aging and Duke University reviewed the
records of Navy and Marine World War 11 veterans who were hospitalized
for a nonpenetrating head injury or other unrelated condition.
In 1996 and 1997 the men were evaluated for dementia and Alzheimer’s
disease (AD).
Both moderate and severe head injury was associated
with increased risk of AD. Results were also similar for dementia.
The results for mild head injury were inconclusive.
There is
apparently a strong correlation between head injuries as a
young adult and the development of AD and other dementias later
in life.
The authors of the study have no idea how the injury
leads to the neurological deficit later in life, but draw a
direct correlation to the severity of the injury and likelihood
that the patient eventually will be diagnosed with the illness.
Those that had experienced a loss of consciousness or amnesia
for less than 24 hours after the injury were twice as likely
as the general population to suffer from Alzheimer’s
disease. For those that lasted 24 or more hours, the risk
quadrupled. The study involved over 1,700 veterans; the time
between the injury and the development of Alzheimer’s
disease was about 50 years.
Because of the records involved,
recall bias may not be as much a factor as in earlier studies.
Head
trauma and the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Van
Duijn CM, Tanja TA, Haaxima R et al. American Journal of
Epidemiology 1992;135:775-82.
This is a population-based case-control
study of the association between head trauma and Alzheimer’s disease from the
Netherlands. Head trauma, ten years prior to the onset of
dementia was analyzed in 198 patients with clinically diagnosed
early onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and 198 controls.
The
authors’ findings buttress other findings that
head trauma may be implicated in AD with a short time lag
between the head trauma and the first symptoms of disease.
Head
trauma with loss of consciousness as a risk factor for Alzheimer’s
disease. Chandra V, Kokmen E, Schoenberg BS, Beard CM. Neurology
1989;39:1576-1578.
All cases of clinically diagnosed Alzheimer’s disease
(AD) from the population of Rochester, MD from 1965-1974
were identified. 274 case-controlled pairs were studied.
A relationship between head trauma and loss of consciousness
was not able to be statistically identified. The author’s
acknowledge that the possibility of recall bias may have
impaired the validity of this study.
The association between
head trauma and Alzheimer’s
disease. Graves AB, White E, Koepsell TD et al American J
of Epidemiology 1990;131:491-501.
This is a case-controlled
study of 130 matched pairs. Cases of Alzheimer’s disease
(AD) were clinically diagnosed at two geriatric psychiatry
clinics. Head injuries causing loss of consciousness or causing
the patient to seek medical care were recorded (24% of the
AD cases and 8.5% in the controls).
As the authors write in
their abstract: “This is the
third case-control study to find a statistically significant
association between head trauma and AD.
Copyright 2004 Koren
Publications, Inc. & Tedd
Koren, D.C.