“Given the growing evidence for several potentially modifiable risk factors for Parkinson’s disease, an important area for future research will be to determine whether improved management of specific highly prevalent comorbidities among TBI-exposed veterans may reduce risk of subsequent Parkinson’s disease,” said the researchers.
Strengths of this study include the use of physicians’ diagnosis of TBI and Parkinson’s disease, a longitudinal cohort design, and a large sample size. One of the study’s limitations was the use of ICD-9 codes for the diagnosis of TBI and Parkinson’s disease, which may have overlooked some cases, such as TBI with polytrauma or mild TBI sustained in combat, said the authors. NR
—Erica Tricarico
Suggested Reading
Gardner RC, Byers AL, Barnes DE, et al. Mild TBI and risk of Parkinson disease: a chronic effects of neurotrauma consortium study. Neurology. 2018 Apr 18 [Epub ahead of print].