# Analysis of blood biomarkers of Alzheimer's and other dementias following traumatic brain injury and/or blast exposure in military personnel

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE HEALTH SCI CTR · 2020 · $236,120

## Abstract

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), otherwise known as concussion, is a common
battlefield injury that, in the military, typically results from exposure to improvised explosive
devices (IEDs), falls, vehicular crashes, other combat-related activities, training, or sports. Over
379,000 United States military service members (SMs) sustained a TBI of any severity between
2000 and 2017 (15% due to combat-related activities in Iraq and Afghanistan; 82.3% classified
as mTBI). Past studies suggest a link between single and repetitive mTBI/concussion and
associated clinical symptoms, including sleep disturbance, headaches, and memory problems.
A greater number of total lifetime concussions has been linked to increased insomnia,
depression, emotional distress, and concussion symptom severity. Similarly, history of
mTBI/concussion has been associated with subsequent development of neurological and
psychiatric illness, such as mood disorders, mild cognitive impairment, chronic traumatic
encephalopathy, dementia (in particular, Alzheimer’s-type). Because of the severity of
symptoms and significant impact on quality of life, early identification of these diseases is
imperative. Several biomarkers associated with these diseases have been found in
cerebrospinal fluid (CSF); however, CSF is difficult to obtain due to the invasive nature of its
collection. Therefore, we wish to collect preliminary data on blood biomarkers in military
personnel who have sustained a concussion or blast exposure during combat deployment, in
order to compare concentrations post-injury to pre-injury. We hypothesize that changes in
neuronal biomarkers will be linked to chronic, persistent clinical symptoms following concussion.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9919635
- **Project number:** 5R21NS110410-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE HEALTH SCI CTR
- **Principal Investigator:** Jack W Tsao
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $236,120
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-05-01 → 2023-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9919635

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9919635, Analysis of blood biomarkers of Alzheimer's and other dementias following traumatic brain injury and/or blast exposure in military personnel (5R21NS110410-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9919635. Licensed CC0.

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