ArticleScientific reports2020
Spatial regression analysis of MR diffusion reveals subject-specific white matter changes associated with repetitive head impacts in contact sports.
Article in Scientific reports, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.
- Brain Health in Former Professional Motorsport Drivers: Case Series in a Population Exposed to Sport-Related Concussions and Repetitive Head Impacts.Sports medicine - open · 2026Article
- Dose-dependent white matter changes associated with repetitive head impacts in former American football players.Brain communications · 2026Article
- Correlating Magnetoencephalography, Diffusion Kurtosis Imaging, Biomechanics, and Neuropsychology in American Youth Football.Journal of neurotrauma · 2025Article
- Does white matter and vascular injury from repetitive head impacts lead to a novel pattern on T2 FLAIR MRI? A hypothesis proposal and call for research.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2025Review
- A Comparative Neuroimaging Review of Repetitive Head Impacts and Mild Traumatic Brain Injury from Pediatrics to Professionals.Neurotrauma reports · 2025Review
- Next generation brain health: transforming global research and public health to promote prevention of dementia and reduce its risk in young adult populations.The lancet. Healthy longevity · 2024Review
- Identifying relevant diffusion MRI microstructure biomarkers relating to exposure to repeated head impacts in contact sport athletes.The neuroradiology journal · 2023Article
- Association Between Serum Neurofilament Light and Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein Levels and Head Impact Burden in Women's Collegiate Water Polo.Journal of neurotrauma · 2023Observational
- Glymphatic system impairment in nonathlete older male adults who played contact sports in their youth associated with cognitive decline: A diffusion tensor image analysis along the perivascular space study.Frontiers in neurology · 2023Article
- The effect of omega-3 fatty acids on a biomarker of head trauma in NCAA football athletes: a multi-site, non-randomized study.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Repetitive head impacts (RHI) are a growing concern due to their possible neurocognitive effects, with research showing a season of RHI produce white matter (WM) changes seen on neuroimaging. We conducted a secondary analysis of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data for 28 contact athletes to compare WM changes. We collected pre-season and post-season DTI scans for each subject, approximately 3 months apart. We collected helmet data for the athletes, which we correlated with DTI data. We adapted the SPatial REgression Analysis of DTI (SPREAD) algorithm to conduct subject-specific longitudinal DTI analysis, and developed global inferential tools using functional norms and a novel robust p value combination test. At the individual level, most detected injured regions (93.3%) were associated with decreased FA values. Using meta-analysis techniques to combine injured regions across subjects, we found the combined injured region at the group level occupied the entire WM skeleton, suggesting the WM damage location is subject-specific. Several subject-specific functional summaries of SPREAD-detected WM change, e.g., the [Formula: see text] norm, significantly correlated with helmet impact measures, e.g. cumulative unweighted rotational acceleration (adjusted p = 0.0049), time between hits rotational acceleration (adjusted p value 0.0101), and time until DTI rotational acceleration (adjusted p = 0.0084), suggesting RHIs lead to WM changes.
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Registered trials
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