ArticleAlzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association2018
Cerebrospinal fluid tau, Aβ, and sTREM2 in Former National Football League Players: Modeling the relationship between repetitive head impacts, microglial activation, and neurodegeneration.
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Article in Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 61 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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61citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
9.9field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
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Who cites it
61 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 115 citations in OpenAlex.
- Head Impact Research Using Inertial Sensors in Sport: A Systematic Review of Methods, Demographics, and Factors Contributing to Exposure.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2022Pooled it
- Concussion and long-term cognitive impairment among professional or elite sport-persons: a systematic review.Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry · 2020Pooled it
- Plasma Phosphorylated Tau 217 in Participants at Risk for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Alterations in CSF Amyloid-β and Tau Biomarkers in Former College and Professional American Football Players: Findings from the DIAGNOSE CTE Research Project.Journal of neurotrauma · 2026Observational
- From Traumatic Brain Injury to Alzheimer's Disease: Multilevel Biomechanical, Neurovascular, and Molecular Mechanisms with Emerging Therapeutic Directions.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Factors associated with subjective cognitive complaints in former American football players.Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society : JINS · 2026Article
- Biofluid-based predictors of post-concussion symptoms: a narrative review of mild traumatic brain injury biomarkers.Brain communications · 2026Review
- Genetic variation in TMEM106B alters microglial activation and cytokine responses in chronic traumatic encephalopathy.Acta neuropathologica · 2025Article
- Dispersion-based cognitive intra-individual variability in former American football players: Association with traumatic encephalopathy syndrome, repetitive head impacts, and biomarkers.The Clinical neuropsychologist · 2025Article
- Single- versus two-test criteria for cognitive impairment: associations with CSF and imaging markers in former American football players.The Clinical neuropsychologist · 2025Article
- Cellular and molecular mechanisms of pathological tau phosphorylation in traumatic brain injury: implications for chronic traumatic encephalopathy.Molecular neurodegeneration · 2025Review
- Neuroinflammatory mechanisms may help identify candidate biomarkers in chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).Free neuropathology · 2025Review
- Sport-related concussion research agenda beyond medical science: culture, ethics, science, policy.Journal of medical ethics · 2024Article
- Examination of plasma biomarkers of amyloid, tau, neurodegeneration, and neuroinflammation in former elite American football players.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2024Article
- Concussion-Related Biomarker Variations in Retired Rugby Players and Implications for Neurodegenerative Disease Risk: The UK Rugby Health Study.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- The Use of Biofluid Markers to Evaluate the Consequences of Sport-Related Subconcussive Head Impact Exposure: A Scoping Review.Sports medicine - open · 2024Article
- Association of Vascular Risk Factors and CSF and Imaging Biomarkers With White Matter Hyperintensities in Former American Football Players.Neurology · 2024Article
- Modifiable dementia risk factors and AT(N) biomarkers: findings from the EPAD cohort.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2024Article
- Navigating the Complexities of Traumatic Encephalopathy Syndrome (TES): Current State and Future Challenges.Biomedicines · 2023Review
- TREM2 is down-regulated by HSV1 in microglia and involved in antiviral defense in the brain.Science advances · 2023Article
1 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
18 authors at 8 institutions in 3 countries.
Michael L AloscoBoston University Alzheimer's Disease Center and Boston University CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
Yorghos TripodisBoston University Alzheimer's Disease Center and Boston University CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Nathan G FrittsBoston University Alzheimer's Disease Center and Boston University CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
Amanda HeslegraveDepartment of Molecular Neuroscience, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, UK; UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, London, UK.
Christine M BaughInterfaculty Initiative in Health Policy, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA.
Shannon ConneelyBoston University Alzheimer's Disease Center and Boston University CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
Megan MarianiBoston University Alzheimer's Disease Center and Boston University CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
Brett M MartinBoston University Alzheimer's Disease Center and Boston University CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; Data Coordinating Center, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Samuel FrankDepartment of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Jesse MezBoston University Alzheimer's Disease Center and Boston University CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
Thor D SteinBoston University Alzheimer's Disease Center and Boston University CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; Departments of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; VA Boston Healthcare System, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, Jamaica Plain, MA, USA; Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bedford, MA, USA.
Robert C CantuBoston University Alzheimer's Disease Center and Boston University CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; Concussion Legacy Foundation, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Neurosurgery, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Neurosurgery, Emerson Hospital, Concord, MA, USA.
Ann C McKeeBoston University Alzheimer's Disease Center and Boston University CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; Departments of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; VA Boston Healthcare System, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, Jamaica Plain, MA, USA; Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bedford, MA, USA.
Leslie M ShawCenter for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
John Q TrojanowskiCenter for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Kaj BlennowClinical Neurochemistry Laboratory, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Mölndal, Sweden; Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Henrik ZetterbergDepartment of Molecular Neuroscience, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, UK; UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, London, UK; Clinical Neurochemistry Laboratory, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Mölndal, Sweden; Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Robert A SternBoston University Alzheimer's Disease Center and Boston University CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Neurosurgery, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address: bobstern@bu.edu.
Boston University · USUK Dementia Research Institute · GBUniversity of Pennsylvania · USVA Boston Healthcare System · USEmerson Hospital · USHarvard University · USHarvard University Press · USSahlgrenska University Hospital · SE
Funding
Project-005UL1TR001430 · NCATS · BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CAMPUS · PI BAIR-MERRITT, MEGAN H, CENTER, DAVID M. · 2015 to 2024
$52.3MUPenn ADCC Biomarker CoreP30AG010124 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · PI XIE, SHARON XIANGWEN · 1991 to 2020
$35.1MResearch Education ComponentP30AG019610 · NIA · SUN HEALTH RESEARCH INSTITUTE · PI REIMAN, ERIC MICHAEL · 2001 to 2020
$32.5MNeuropathology CoreP30AG013846 · NIA · BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CAMPUS · PI KOWALL, NEIL W. · 1996 to 2020
$29.1MChronic Traumatic Encephalopathy: Detection, Diagnosis, Course, and Risk FactorsU01NS093334 · NINDS · BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CAMPUS · PI CUMMINGS, JEFFREY L., REIMAN, ERIC MICHAEL · 2016 to 2022
$17.0MCTE and Posttraumatic Neurodegeneration: Neuropathology and Ex Vivo ImagingU01NS086659 · NINDS · BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CAMPUS · PI MCKEE, ANN C. · 2014 to 2017
$6.1MEpigenetic changes in synaptic and inflammatory genes involved in the age-dependent development of Alzheimer's disease pathologies andcognitive declineRF1AG054156 · NIA · BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CAMPUS · PI AU, RHODA, RYU, HOON · 2016 to 2018
$3.4MChronic Traumatic Encephalopathy: Clinical Presentation and BiomarkersR01NS078337 · NINDS · BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CAMPUS · PI STERN, ROBERT A · 2011 to 2013
$2.0MRepetitive Head Impact Exposure and Later-Life White Matter Signal Abnormalities: An Investigation in Former NFL Players, Subjects with Alzheimer's Disease, and Cognitively Normal ControlsK23NS102399 · NINDS · BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CAMPUS · PI ALOSCO, MICHAEL · 2018 to 2022
$793kChronic Traumatic Encephalopathy: Clinical Presentation and BiomarkersR56NS078337 · NINDS · BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CAMPUS · PI STERN, ROBERT A · 2014 to 2014
$786kGenetic and Neuropsychological Heterogeneity in Alzheimer's DiseaseK23AG046377 · NIA · BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CAMPUS · PI MEZ, JESSE BENJAMIN · 2014 to 2018
$639kMagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy as a Biomarker for Chronic Traumatic EncephalopathyF32NS096803 · NINDS · BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CAMPUS · PI ALOSCO, MICHAEL · 2016 to 2017
$118kCSRD VA I01 CX001038NCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR001430NIA NIH HHS K23 AG046377NIA NIH HHS P30 AG010124NIA NIH HHS P30 AG013846NIA NIH HHS P30 AG019610NIA NIH HHS RF1 AG054156NINDS NIH HHS F32 NS096803NINDS NIH HHS K23 NS102399NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS078337NINDS NIH HHS R56 NS078337NINDS NIH HHS U01 NS086659NINDS NIH HHS U01 NS093334
Abstract
introductionCerebrospinal fluid (CSF) protein analysis may facilitate detection and elucidate mechanisms of neurological consequences from repetitive head impacts (RHI), such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy. We examined CSF concentrations of total tau (t-tau), phosphorylated tau, and amyloid β
methodsSixty-eight former NFL players and 21 controls underwent lumbar puncture to quantify t-tau, p-tau
resultsNo between-group differences for CSF analytes emerged. In the former NFL players, the cumulative head impact index predicted higher t-tau concentrations (P = .041), and higher sTREM2 levels were associated with higher t-tau concentrations (P = .009). DISCUSSION: In this sample of former NFL players, greater RHI and increased microglial activation were associated with higher CSF t-tau concentrations.
Indexed as
Amyloid beta-PeptidesBiomarkersChronic Traumatic EncephalopathyFootballHumansMaleMembrane GlycoproteinsMicrogliaMiddle AgedNerve DegenerationReceptors, Immunologictau ProteinsAmyloid beta-PeptidesBiomarkersMAPT protein, humanMembrane GlycoproteinsReceptors, Immunologictau ProteinsTREM2 protein, humanAlzheimer's diseaseAβCerebrospinal fluidChronic traumatic encephalopathyConcussionMicroglial activationRepetitive head impactssTREM2Subconcussive
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