Medical professionals and researchers have known for some time that TBI (traumatic brain injury) affects the gastrointestinal tract. However, it is only recently that these professionals have discovered that the link between brain injury and gut damage goes both ways.
A recent study involving mice with an "experimental TBI" revealed that the injured animals experienced long-term changes in the colon over a month-long period following the injury. Interestingly, the study also found that the gastrointestinal dysfunction experienced by these mice increased "posttraumatic brain inflammation and associated tissue loss."