Parkinson’s risk rises from single head knock

A single non-serious knock on the head can increase the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, research has shown.

People are 56 per serious more likely to be diagnosed with the illness after a diagnosis of “mild traumatic brain injury”, say researchers. The study involved nearly 326,000 veteran US servicemen and women.

Half the participants, who ranged in age from 31 to 65, had suffered a mild, moderate or severe traumatic brain injury. Over a period of up to 12 years, a total of 1,462 of the veterans developed Parkinson’s.

Professor David Dexter at the charity Parkinson’s UK, said: “Studies looking at brains cells under the microscope have revealed that trauma to the head can trigger proteins to clump together. Such protein clumps are a feature in Parkinson’s.”