Numerical Investigation of Rotational Head Impacts in Atrophic Alzheimer’s Brains Using Finite Element Analysis
کلمات کلیدی:
Alzheimer's disease, Brain atrophy, Traumatic brain injury (TBI), luid-Structure Interaction (FSI),چکیده
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a critical concern in elderly populations, particularly in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), where brain atrophy may influence injury outcomes. This study employed finite element analysis to investigate the effects of rotational head impacts on two brain models: one representing healthy aging with a 0.5% annual atrophy and another representing AD with a 4% annual atrophy.
The peak normal stress in the frontal region was slightly lower in the AD model (0.24803 MPa) compared to the healthy aging model (0.25025 MPa), likely due to increased cerebrospinal fluid thickness. However, the first principal strain at the end of the simulation was higher in the AD model (0.1222) than in the healthy aging model (0.1171), indicating greater tissue deformation. These findings highlight that while atrophy-related CSF increases can reduce stress, they may also enhance relative motion between brain and skull, potentially increasing the risk of injury.
Future studies should incorporate patient-specific atrophy patterns and various impact scenarios to better understand brain vulnerability in neurodegenerative conditions.
دانلودها
مراجع
[1] Porsteinsson, A. P., Isaacson, R. S., Knox, S., Sabbagh, M. N., & Rubino, I. (2021). Diagnosis of
early Alzheimer's disease: clinical practice in 2021. The journal of prevention of Alzheimer's
disease, 8(3), 371-386.
[2] Scheltens, P., De Strooper, B., Kivipelto, M., Holstege, H., Chételat, G., Teunissen, C. E., ... & van
der Flier, W. M. (2021). Alzheimer's disease. The Lancet, 397(10284), 1577-1590.
[3] Masters, C. L., Bateman, R., Blennow, K., Rowe, C. C., Sperling, R. A., & Cummings, J. L. (2015).
Alzheimer's disease. Nature reviews disease primers, 1(1), 1-18.
[4] Khalili, S. M., Simpkins, C., & Yang, F. (2024). A meta-analysis of fall risk in older adults with
Alzheimer’s disease. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 25(5), 781-788.
[5] Stark, S. L., Roe, C. M., Grant, E. A., Hollingsworth, H., Benzinger, T. L., Fagan, A. M., ... &
Morris, J. C. (2013). Preclinical Alzheimer disease and risk of falls. Neurology, 81(5), 437-443.
[6] Jack Jr, C. R., Shiung, M. M., Gunter, J. L., O’brien, P. C., Weigand, S. D., Knopman, D. S., ... &
Petersen, R. C. (2004). Comparison of different MRI brain atrophy rate measures with clinical
disease progression in AD. Neurology, 62(4), 591-600.
[7] Schott, J. M., Price, S. L., Frost, C., Whitwell, J. L., Rossor, M. N., & Fox, N. C. (2005). Measuring
atrophy in Alzheimer disease: a serial MRI study over 6 and 12 months. Neurology, 65(1), 119-
124.
[8] Boyes, R. G., Rueckert, D., Aljabar, P., Whitwell, J., Schott, J. M., Hill, D. L., & Fox, N. C. (2006).
Cerebral atrophy measurements using Jacobian integration: comparison with the boundary shift
integral. NeuroImage, 32(1), 159-169.
[9] De Stefano, N., Battaglini, M., & Smith, S. M. (2007). Measuring brain atrophy in multiple
sclerosis. Journal of Neuroimaging, 17, 10S-15S.
[10] Sluimer, J. D., Vrenken, H., Blankenstein, M. A., Fox, N. C., Scheltens, P., Barkhof, F., & Van Der
Flier, W. M. (2008). Whole-brain atrophy rate in Alzheimer disease: identifying fast progressors.
Neurology, 70(19_part_2), 1836-1841.
[11] Pini, L., Pievani, M., Bocchetta, M., Altomare, D., Bosco, P., Cavedo, E., ... & Frisoni, G. B. (2016).
Brain atrophy in Alzheimer’s disease and aging. Ageing research reviews, 30, 25-48.
[12] Fjell, A. M., Westlye, L. T., Grydeland, H., Amlien, I., Espeseth, T., Reinvang, I., ... & Alzheimer
Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. (2013). Critical ages in the life course of the adult brain:
nonlinear subcortical aging. Neurobiology of aging, 34(10), 2239-2247.
[13] Fjell, A. M., Walhovd, K. B., Fennema-Notestine, C., McEvoy, L. K., Hagler, D. J., Holland, D., ...
& Dale, A. M. (2009). One-year brain atrophy evident in healthy aging. Journal of Neuroscience,
29(º), 15223-15231.
[14] Enzinger, C., Fazekas, F., Matthews, P. M., Ropele, S., Schmidt, H., Smith, S., & Schmidt, R. (2005).
Risk factors for progression of brain atrophy in aging: six-year follow-up of normal subjects.
Neurology, 64(10), 1704-1711.
[15] Abdi, H., Sanchez-Molina, D., Garcia-Vilana, S., & Rahimi-Movaghar, V. (2025). Biomechanical
perspectives on traumatic brain injury in the elderly: A comprehensive review. Progress in
Biomedical Engineering.
[16] Zhou, Z., Li, X., & Kleiven, S. (2019). Biomechanics of acute subdural hematoma in the elderly: a
fluid-structure interaction study. Journal of neurotrauma, 36(13), 2099-2108.
[17] Zhou, Z., Li, X., & Kleiven, S. (2020). Evaluation of brain-skull interface modelling approaches on
the prediction of acute subdural hematoma in the elderly. Journal of biomechanics, 105, 109787.
[18] Ho, J. (2008). Generation of patient specific finite element head models (Doctoral dissertation,
KTH).
[19] Abdi, H., Mirani, A., & Jafari, R. (2024). Quantitative assessment of traumatic brain injury risk in
diverse age groups of females: Insights from computational biomechanics. Heliyon, 10(10).
[20] Abdi, H., Sanchez-Molina, D., Garcia-Vilana, S., & Rahimi-Movaghar, V. (2023). Quantifying the
effect of cerebral atrophy on head injury risk in elderly individuals: insights from computational
biomechanics and experimental analysis of bridging veins. Injury, 54(12), 111125.
[21] Nahum, A. M., Smith, R., & Ward, C. C. (1977). Intracranial pressure dynamics during head impact
(No. 770922). SAE Technical Paper.
[22] Depreitere, B., Van Lierde, C., Vander Sloten, J., Van Audekercke, R., Van Der Perre, G., Plets,
C., & Goffin, J. (2006). Mechanics of acute subdural hematomas resulting from bridging vein
rupture. Journal of neurosurgery, 104(6), 950-956.
[23] Cui, Z. Y., Famaey, N., Depreitere, B., Ivens, J., Kleiven, S., & Vander Sloten, J. (2017). On the
assessment of bridging vein rupture associated acute subdural hematoma through finite element
analysis. Computer methods in biomechanics and biomedical engineering, 20(5), 530-539.
