Traumatic brain injuries are often incurred by soldiers and by those who play contact sports like football and boxing. It has long been known that TBIs can lead to cognitive impairment and behavioral changes with some people becoming clinically depressed and committing suicide. West Virginia residents should know that there is no drug to prevent or cure this development in TBI patients.

However, new research may have found the link between TBIs and these later complications. One doctor states that normal brains contain certain germs that lie dormant until they are activated by head trauma. Once activated, the germs are said to release toxins and antigens into the brain that can cause inflammation and cognitive damage.

As the CEO of Alzheimer’s Germ Quest, Inc., the doctor has been encouraging research into how certain infectious agents are linked to Alzheimer’s. The public benefit corporation sponsors a $1 million Challenge Award, which is to be given to the scientist who first proves that a microbe is behind Alzheimer’s.

The CEO began to look into TBIs after discovering that microbes can be found even in normal brains. His theory linking these microbes to TBI complications is called the Beehive Theory because a disturbance to a beehive will incite the bees to swarm out and attack. The theory was presented in the peer-reviewed medical journal, Medical Hypotheses.

Sometimes, people can incur a head injury through the negligence of others: for example, by slipping and falling on someone’s property or by being struck by an object. They may have the means to file a personal injury claim and be reimbursed for past and future medical bills, pain and suffering, emotional trauma, lost wages and more. It might take a lawyer and a team of investigators to build up the case.