Head Injury and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Population-Based Study from the National ALS Registry

Affiliate

Jaime Raymond [1], Ileana M. Howard [2][3], Jasmine Berry [1], Theodore Larson [1], D. Kevin Horton [1] and Paul Mehta [1]

1. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA
2. Rehabilitation Care Services, VA Puget Sound Healthcare System, Seattle, WA 98108, USA
3. Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA

Journal

Brain Sciences

Summary

A team from the National ALS Registry looked at the association between injury at a younger age and the age of ALS diagnosis. Reviewing responses from 3424 members of the National ALS Registry database, the researchers found an increased risk of early ALS diagnosis (before age 60) among those who sustained head injuries between the ages of 18-30. Furthermore, the researchers found that repeated head injuries (5+) and those injuries sustained during childhood increased the risk for ALS. Further research is warranted to find the correlative effect of head injuries and onset of ALS, however the research team recommends that it is imperative to take head injury reduction initiatives, particularly among children, to reduce the risk of ALS.

Paper Link

Read the paper here!