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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2014 Nov 1.
Published in final edited form as: Med Hypotheses. 2013 Sep 17;81(5):10.1016/j.mehy.2013.09.012. doi: 10.1016/j.mehy.2013.09.012

Figure 1. TBI-accelerated Aβ plaque build-up is accompanied by vascular damage.

Figure 1

Under normal conditions, healthy blood vessels and amyloid precursor proteins can be seen in the brain (A). Either aging of the brain or TBI or even both can cause enzymatic alteration of the APP molecule (B), resulting in aberrant aggregation of Aβ plaques (C). Accumulation of Aβ plaques is accompanied by vascular damage (D), which may act as a precursor to AD, as well as an exacerbating factor to TBI.