Are you more likely to Alzheimer's if you've had a head injury?

A fellow caregiver asked...

Are people who have experienced a head injury more suseptible to Alzheimer's? And if so, how much?

Expert Answer

Ladislav Volicer, M.D., Ph.D., is recognized as an international expert on advanced dementia care. He is a courtesy full professor at the School of Aging Studies, University of South Florida, Tampa, and visiting professor at the Third Medical Faculty, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic. Twenty-five years ago, he established one of the first dementia special care units.

A study of american soldiers who fought in the WWII showed that those soldiers who suffered moderate head injury had twice the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and those who suffered severe head injury had four times higher risk of developing Alzheimer's disease than soldiers without head injury. If a head injury has an acute effect on development of Alzheimer's disease is less clear.