Concussions and the Effect on Hormone Levels in Men and Women

We regularly hear after a patient has had a concussion that their doctors tell them to just “deal with it.” In Doctors' defense, often times nothing appears to be wrong with the CT Scans or lab work. There is no explanation for the headaches or fatigue. They can’t explain the emotional outbursts, why a person with these symptoms don’t feel like themselves or why they are so tired. It seems invisible and they can’t explain it. 

Typical care after a concussion:

There is much confusion surrounding concussions but there IS an explanation, it IS a visible injury if the right imaging is ordered. 

Today, let's talk about concussions and hormone dysregulation. 

There is a common link between concussions and low testosterone. Surprised? 

To begin, we need to understand normal testosterone development:

It all starts with the hypothalamus. In turn, the hypothalamus talks to your pituitary and your pituitary makes hormones that go throughout your body and produce the hormones that we are most familiar with. For instance, the pituitary secretes FSH and LH. Those hormones go to the gonads (in men) to produce the dominant hormone, testosterone. 

In a study published researchers explored the connection between NFL players, their testosterone levels, and the incidences of erectile dysfunction.1
 

3,506 pro-football players filled out questionnaires post concussion and they found that “Concussion symptoms at the time of injury among former football players were associated with current participant-reported low testosterone levels and ED indicators. These findings suggest that men with a history of head injury may benefit from discussions with their health care clinicians regarding testosterone deficiency and sexual dysfunction.”
 

On one hand, there are doctors that believe that raising testosterone levels in their patient will help anything and everything and that it is a magic bullet that will cure all of their ails. While healthy hormones are necessary to fight depression, and good hormones are necessary to prevent cognitive declines, just hormone supplementation will not address the root cause. The root cause is found in the brain. 
 

But in this study, it is evident in these documented head injuries and immediately after, that these professional football players noticed a significant increase in symptoms of low-testosterone. Keep in mind that these NFL players are considered by many to be the top physical specimens of athletes in our country. This is the highest-running testosterone group that is out there. However, after head injuries, it has now been documented that testosterone goes down. 
 

Later in the article, they state, “We identified a highly robust, monotonically increasing association between self-reported concussion symptoms at the time of football injury and self-reported low testosterone levels and ED indicators. Even participants with relatively few concussion symptoms (i.e., those in the second quartile) had significantly elevated odds of reporting low testosterone levels compared with men in the lowest quartile.”
 

It is so interesting that even in minor head injuries resulting with fewer symptoms, you can see that the symptoms they experience are due to low testosterone. 
 

In another study about concussions, researchers studied our military veterans who served in Iraq or Afghanistan. The first group of veterans had been through blast related injuries while deployed in the Middle East. The second group were military veterans who served in similar areas but had not experienced any blast injuries.2

They found, “Studies of traumatic brain injury from all causes have found evidence of chronic hypopituitarism, defined by deficient production of one or more pituitary hormones at least 1 year after injury, in 25-50% of cases.”
 

This means that when the hypothalamus talks to the pituitary, the pituitary is not making the correct amount of hormones that would then go to the gonads and produce testosterone. There are insufficient amounts of testosterone being made. Also, the pituitary produces human growth hormone. When HGH is low in an adult, they are prone to symptoms of PTSD.
 

This knowledge is huge for our concussion patients. As we have discussed in prior newsletters and videos, brain injuries promote leaky gut, can cause POTS, fatigue, etc. The realities of suffering a concussion are vast, varied, and need to be taken seriously, but there IS help for the post concussion patient. 
 

In addition, according to this study, 25-50% of brain injury sufferers also have hormonal dysfunction in which the brain is not sending the right signals out to the target endo-organs. 
 

Your symptoms are legitimate and you need to find a doctor that knows what is going on. 

You can see from the figure above how when the pituitary is misfiring, it can cause problems in several different areas physiologically. 
 

“Eleven of 26, or 42% of participants with blast concussions were found to have abnormal hormone levels in one or more pituitary axes, a prevalence similar to that found in other forms of TBI.”
 

So basically, this is reiterating what was found in the article above. 42% of the blast injured in this study are walking around with at least one pituitary hormone imbalance. 
 

And remember, they are also finding that symptoms of PTSD correlate with human growth hormone (HGH) levels that come from the pituitary. If HGH levels go down, you are more prone to have PTSD symptoms. 

Estrogen 
 

“This current study provides initial evidence that women with predominantly mild TBI, vs. with moderate to severe TBI, may also have significant hormonal changes in response to the injury these TBI effect increase as severity of the injury increases.”

As we discussed in other newsletters and video broadcasts, commonly in men after a TBI, cortisol will drop and adrenaline will go up leading to broken down gut health and then a variety of many negative consequences. 

In women, however, the gonadal hormone goes down (estrogen) but cortisol will go up. In the study, they are saying that even in mild TBI, in female concussion patients there are hormone disturbances.
 

There has been a question as to why women tend to do better after a traumatic brain injury than their male counterparts. Researchers are finding that estrogen and progesterone have a neuroprotective effect on the brain. This comes from some robust data. With 218,000 patients it was  “found female gender to be associated with improved survival rates...” after the age of 46. 

In a study with animals, it was found “estrogen acted as a neuroprotectant through multiple mechanisms including antioxidant, increased cerebral blood flow, anti-inflammatory activity, induced prosurvival gene, and glutamate-induced excitotoxicity protection.”4


It is even being discussed that maybe in the future, we will treat men post TBI with estrogen and progesterone. 


Very interesting data, but nonetheless, male or female, if you are dealing with symptoms of post concussion syndrome, another important thing to note is that your hormones should also be checked.

The body is very inter-related. Every individual needs an individualized whole-body approach to chronic problems, because it is not one thing that is wrong, it is multiple things. This is why we check pituitary hormones in every post-concussion syndrome/multiple traumatic brain injury patient. It is very important and these hormones play such a major role in the body's workings and role in recovery. 

Note the symptoms we listed above. If you are experiencing any symptoms of hormone imbalance, please reach out to your doctor. 

 

Sources:

1. Grashow, Rachel, et al. “Association of Concussion Symptoms With Testosterone Levels and Erectile Dysfunction.” JAMA Neurology, JAMA Network, 26 Aug. 2019, jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaneurology/fullarticle/2748920.

2. Wilkinson, Charles W., et al. High Prevalence of Chronic Pituitary and Target-Organ Hormone Abnormalities after Blast-Related Mild Traumatic Brain Injury. 7 Feb. 2012, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22347210/.

3. Niemeier, Janet P., et al. “A Repeated Measures Pilot Comparison of Trajectories of Fluctuating Endogenous Hormones in Young Women with Traumatic Brain Injury, Healthy Controls.” Behavioural Neurology, Hindawi, 12 Feb. 2019, www.hindawi.com/journals/bn/2019/7694503/.

4. Berry, Cherisse, et al. “The Effect of Gender on Patients with Moderate to Severe Head Injuries.” The Journal of Trauma, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Nov. 2009, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19901653/.

 

This Article by Gemma Ward based on information shared by Dr. Gates here and here.

"Lysine is an amino acid that acts as a building block for the protein in your body. This amino acid is essential since your body cannot produce it on its own.
 

As a natural disease-fighting agent, the amino acid L-lysine provides numerous benefits for the body. From converting fat to energy, to helping form collagen. There are so many beneficial properties to l-lysine. Here are a few.

BENEFITS OF L-LYSINE

Our body’s need lysine in order to provide healthy functioning. Since lysine helps your body absorb calcium, it helps you treat anxiety. It plays a vital role in fighting diseases.

HELP PROTECT AGAINST & TREAT COLD SORES

When a cold sore  or fever blisters appear on the lip or corner of the mouth, it means there is an infection. This infection is caused by HSV-1, Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1, which stays hidden within the spine. Thus, in times of stress or when your immune system is weak, the HSV-1 can cause a cold sore to develop.

The benefit from l-lysine is that it helps prevents the HSV-1 from replicating. It is believed to do this by blocking the amino acid arginine, which HSV-1 needs in order to replicate. Not to mention, it also reduces the duration of the cold sore.

HELPS REDUCE ANXIETY

Lysine helps reduce anxiety by blocking the receptors that respond to stress. When you body maintains a high level of lysine, it helps improve mental health. This is immensely beneficial since lysine deficiency is linked to anxiety as well as schizophrenia.

Maintaining lysine levels in the body helps reduce the feelings of anxiety. It reduces the body’s levels of cortisol, the stress hormone.

IMPROVE HEART HEALTH WITH LYSINE

When the body consumes lysine, it helps support the production of carnitine. The compound carnitine helps reduce cholesterol levels by converting fatty acids into energy. This also helps protect against clogged arteries. Thus, providing major improvements to the health of the heart.

IMPROVE BONE HEALTH

Maintaining lysine levels in the body helps the body absorb calcium much more efficiently. Therefore, it helps increase the one strength in the body as well as reduce skeletal conditions such as osteoporosis.  

Lysine helps the body absorb calcium while reducing the loss of calcium in your urine. This helps reduce the risk of calcium buildup within the blood vessels.

SUPPORT MUSCLE GROWTH

Lysine is also helpful in the production of growth hormones within the body. It Is found in abundance in the skeletal system.

When you workout, the muscle protein breakdown. Lysine helps the muscle tissue rebuild by aiding the muscle recovery process.

REDUCE THE RISK OF DIABETES-RELATED ISSUES  

Lysine helps in inhibiting the production of advanced glycation end products (AGEs). AGEs are proteins that when exposed to sugars, it begins to glycinate.  

PROMOTES COLLAGEN PRODUCTION

When it comes to promoting the production of collagen, lysine is required. Collagen  n essential protein that helps the body repair wounds. Lysine acts as binding agent allowing new cells to form at the wound site. Therefore, speeding up the healing process while reducing the recovery time.

From preventing cold sores to strengthening the skeletal structure of the body. Lysine is an effective amino acid that supplements the body with numerous benefits. Without sufficient levels of lysine, the body is unable to produce the appropriate hormones and immune cells. "

Call (775) 507-2000 to order or click the button below. 
*Information on Lysine provided by Immuse.com

INGREDIENTS

• 2 acorn squash (halved lengthwise)
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1 pound lean ground turkey
• 1 small onion (diced)
• 2 stalk celery (diced)
• 1 honey crisp apple (peeled, cored, diced)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground sage
• 1 clove garlic (minced)
• 1/2 cup golden raisins ((optional))
• 1/4 cup pecans (finely diced)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet, season cut sides of squash with salt and pepper, drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil, and turn cut sides down. Cover sheet tightly with foil and roast until tender, about 35 minutes.
2. While the squash cooks, heat remaining oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add celery, apple and onion and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and stir continuously until fragrant.
3. Add turkey, sage and additional salt and pepper to the vegetables and sauté until turkey is no longer pink. Remove the skillet from the heat; stir in the raisins.
4. Carefully scoop out the most of the flesh from each squash half, leaving about an inch for support and stir into stuffing mixture; season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide turkey mixture among squash halves, coat the halves generously with pecans and put back in the oven at 450˚  for an additional 2-3 minutes to toast the pecans on the acorns (skip this step if you have pre-roasted pecans).