A new study by the scientists at UCLA finds that a moderate traumatic brain injury increases the risk of Parkinson ’s disease later in life.  We aren’t talking about the obvious traumatic injuries that happen in extreme situations like a head injury that would affect a soldier at war, but the head injuries that occur every day from slip and falls, car crashes and football helmets crashing together.

Many people associate a simple head ache to longer term problems with thinking ability and memory as a result of a head injury; few would venture a guess that it could lead to the onset of a neurodegenerative disorder like Parkinson’s.  The study found that when rats experienced a head trauma brain 15% of a certain type of brain cell was lost.  This loss continued up to 30% 26 weeks after the initial incident.  The loss of these neurons can result in the problems with movement, tremors and rigidity observed in Parkinson’s patients.

Slip and fall accidents cause many physical injuries including broken bones, sprained muscles, spinal and back injuries and head injuries.  Slipping and falling can be avoided when companies and municipalities invest in high quality non-slip flooring materials.  SLIPNOT provides metal safety flooring products like floor plate, stair treads and ladder rungs that help eliminated these accidents.  Companies need to take the risk of traumatic head injuries seriously when working to avoid accidents from slip and falls.

Wheeler, Mark “Traumatic brain injury increases risk of Parkinson’s disease, UCLA researchers say,” www.newsroom.ucla.edu. Sept, 9 2011