# Contrast cTBI neuropathology to that of aging and wider neurodegenerative diseases

> **NIH NIH U54** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2021 · $90,234

## Abstract

Research Project 2
SUMMARY
There is growing concern over the association between traumatic brain injury (TBI) and progressive
neurodegenerative changes, in particular those described as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). First
recognized in boxers, it was not until later reports of similar pathologies in non-boxer athletes that the long-term
consequences of TBI attracted widespread attention. Recent and preliminary consensus criteria propose CTE
as a distinct neurodegenerative pathology, although the associated clinical consequences of this pathology
remain unclear. Importantly, there is growing consensus that there is a high prevalence of comorbidity across
neurodegenerative diseases including AD, Lewy body disease, and frontotemporal lobar degeneration. While,
current reporting in CTE largely focuses on proposed “pathognomonic” tau pathologies, the heterogeneity of
neurodegenerative disease neuropathology associated with chronic survival from TBI (cTBI) is not well
described. Here we will evaluate the spectrum of neuropathologic change that is shared or unique between TBI-
related neurodegeneration (TReND) versus other neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease
(AD), Lewy body disease, and frontotemporal lobar degeneration. Specifically, by evaluating a
neurodegenerative disease autopsy cohort of 275 cases, matched to the cTBI cohort studied in research project
1, we will examine for the presence and distribution of neuropathologies including Aβ amyloid, tau, α-synuclein
and TDP-43 aggregates. Importantly, by examining a further cohort of 450 cases, we will also determine whether
TReND pathology, like other neurodegenerative disease processes, can also be observed in neurodegenerative
disease cases without any history of TBI.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10241895
- **Project number:** 5U54NS115322-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Douglas Hamilton Smith
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $90,234
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-09-30 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10241895

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10241895, Contrast cTBI neuropathology to that of aging and wider neurodegenerative diseases (5U54NS115322-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10241895. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*