Traumatic Brain Injuries and Testosterone

 

In an article published by The Washington Post, a study of twins who both served in World War II “showed that traumatic brain injuries are associated with faster rates of cognitive decline as we age”.¹ Mainly white, male twins were used, but this doesn’t discredit the conclusion reached by the end of the research. Overall, the study found that individuals “… with at least one traumatic brain injury… that occurred at age 25 or older were more likely to have lower scores on the cognitive tests” and that the traumatic brain injury or injuries were “also associated with a faster decline in cognitive test scores in subsequent tests”.¹ This data shows that a traumatic brain injury does not only affect an individual at the moment but does have long-term consequences. The severity of this cognitive decline wasn’t explicitly stated in the article; however, one can only assume that any kind of abnormal cognitive decline isn’t ideal. What this article fails to address is possible techniques and treatments that can be used to treat traumatic brain injuries, as well as limit the severity of symptoms. However, research has come out identifying a possible treatment for vestibular symptoms resulting from a traumatic brain injury.

            The study that led to these results was focused on dealing with repetitive mild closed-head traumatic brain injuries. In this case, an animal model was used, and the focus was measuring vestibular function. The experiment utilized male rats, and they were randomly divided into sham or traumatic brain injury groups. Vestibular functional deficits following repeated traumatic brain injuries were observed and confirmed in the traumatic brain injury groups, and further testing showed chronic vestibular neuronal cell loss, too. The other focus of the study was to confirm if testosterone could restore some vestibular function following repetitive traumatic brain injuries. So, after the rats developed chronic vestibular dysfunction, testosterone was given to those with multiple traumatic brain injuries. It was found that “animals given testosterone showed improved vestibular function that was sustained for 175 days post-rmTBI” and “testosterone treatment significantly improved vestibular neuronal survival”.² This data is extremely important due to identifying testosterone as a possible form of treatment for those with repetitive, mild traumatic brain injuries, especially regarding vestibular function. However, this study only used male rats, and not female. Hopefully, soon, testing will be done directed towards females to identify if testosterone can lead to the same results, or if another sex/androgen hormone would be needed.

            Both studies yield important results regarding traumatic brain injuries and the long-term effects that come along with such an injury. Traumatic brain injuries are more common than people think, especially in groups like veterans and contact sports players. In America, around 1.5 million individuals a year sustain a traumatic brain injury, and “an estimated 5.3 million men, women, and children are living with a permanent TBI-related disability”.³ Of course, this data only comes from reported instances, and the actual amount of traumatic brain injuries and those dealing with symptoms post-trauma could be much higher. As of now, treatment of chronic post-traumatic brain injury symptoms is not as developed as it should be. Most therapies and treatments currently, especially those relating to vestibular function, have had limited success. These treatments are often done quite sometime after the trauma event has occurred, usually when a patient seeks medical treatment due to persisting symptoms. With the results gathered from the testosterone and vestibular function study, a clearer path toward finding treatment with results is forming. Hopefully, as more studies are conducted, the focus can shift from vestibular symptoms to cognitive ones.

These studies can not only be applied to those with traumatic brain injuries but also may have connections with Alzheimer’s and other similar diseases. These diseases or disorders have overlapping symptoms with traumatic brain injuries; for example, a decline of cognition, emotional regulation, and vestibular function is found in both those with Alzheimer’s and those who have had one or multiple traumatic brain injuries. If a method for treating cognitive impairment caused by traumatic brain injuries is found, that method also can be tailored to address cognitive impairment in those with Alzheimer’s or dementia-like disorders/diseases. Overall, figuring out a working treatment for traumatic brain injury symptoms does not have to be limited to just treating traumatic brain injuries. First, however, new studies would need to be done where females are the centered subject, unlike the previous studies that were centered around males. Once a treatment is developed for both sexes, then studies can be expanded to treat similar symptoms that belong to different causes, like for example, Alzheimer’s. This area of neuroscience and treating traumatic brain injuries is relatively new and developing. Hopefully, with more time, it can evolve into a solid treatment plan for humans with noticeable success.

References

1.     Amenabar, T. (2023, September 6). Traumatic brain injuries linked to cognitive decline later in life. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/09/06/concussions-brain-injury-cognitive-decline-aging/

2.     Foecking, E. M., Segismundo, A., Lotesto, K., Westfall, E., Bolduan, A., Peter, T., Wallace, D. G., Kozlowski, D. A., Stubbs, E. B., Marzo, S. J., & Byram, S. C. (2022). Testosterone treatment restores vestibular function by enhancing neuronal survival in an experimental closed-head repetitive mild traumatic brain injury model. Behavioural Brain Research, 433, 113998–113998. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2022.113998

3.      Report to Congress: Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States | Concussion | Traumatic Brain Injury | CDC Injury Center. (2019, January 31). Www.cdc.gov. https://www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininjury/pubs/tbi_report_to_congress.html#:~:text=Traumatic%20brain%20injury%20%28TBI%29%20is%20a%20leading%20cause