< Back to previous page

Project

The Impact of Traumatic Brain Injury in older adults

The elderly population is growing very fast worldwide. As a result, and mainly due to falls associated with increased activity of the elderly, the proportion of the elderly population with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) has been rising dramatically over the past two decades. However, the impact of TBI in the elderly is still not well understood and the existing prognostic tools for the condition have not been validated for this population and do not consider the loss of function after TBI. Therefore, our aim is to evaluate the nature and impact of TBI in the elderly, to determine if there is a correlation between TBI and other types of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson disease, and to develop a specific prognostic model for this population. To achieve these goals, we will create a map of injury patterns and criteria that allow for identifying which accident circumstances ageing adults should reasonably be protected against. Moreover, we will study the impact of TBI in this population through motor, cognitive and quality of life assessments, in a retrospective cohort of patients older than 65 years old, who have suffered TBI and have been admitted to the University Hospitals Leuven. With all the obtained data, we will create a report that will describe the nature and impact of TBI in the elderly and we will develop a new prognostic tool for the course of the consequences of TBI, specific for the elderly and considering cognitive and motor outcomes, and the quality of life of the patients.

Date:2 Jan 2019 →  24 Mar 2023
Keywords:Traumatic Brain Injury, Elderly, Cognitive functions, Motor functions, Neurodegenerative disorders, Quality of life
Disciplines:Neurological and neuromuscular diseases
Project type:PhD project