Fig. 6.

Proposed mechanisms by which TBI may increase risk for Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological disorders. Schematic represents an overview of a proposed model by which TBI exposure may mechanistically increase subsequent risk for Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological disorders. Accordingly, TBI resulting from either mechanical injuries or blast injuries, which are predominant, respectively, in the civilian or the Veteran population, induces biological responses that lead to aberrant biochemical, structural and/or functional changes in the brain. For example, long-term induction of MCP-1 following TBI may contribute to demyelination processes that, ultimately, may reduce resilience of the brain to subsequent neurodegenerative insults.