Washington, July 13 - Researchers have stumbled on how two brain disorders are linked -- both Alzhemier's and traumatic brain injury trigger destruction of cellular pathways. This finding could pave the way for successful treatment of both conditions.

Both Alzheimer's and traumatic brain injury are associated with the build-up of beta amyloid, a toxic brain peptide.

This substance is commonly found in the brains of elderly patients who died from Alzheimer's disease, but has also been found in a third of traumatic brain injury victims, said neurologist Mark Burns, from Georgetown University Medical Centre (GUMC).

People experiencing such a brain injury are also known to have a 400 percent increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.