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Hirad AA, Bazarian JJ, Merchant-Borna K, Garcea FE, Heilbronner S, Paul D, Hintz EB, van Wijngaarden E, Schifitto G, Wright DW, Espinoza TR, Mahon BZ. A common neural signature of brain injury in concussion and subconcussion. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2019; 5:eaau3460. [PMID: 31457074 PMCID: PMC6685720 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aau3460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2018] [Accepted: 06/28/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The midbrain is biomechanically susceptible to force loading from repetitive subconcussive head impacts (RSHI), is a site of tauopathy in chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), and regulates functions (e.g., eye movements) often disrupted in concussion. In a prospective longitudinal design, we demonstrate there are reductions in midbrain white matter integrity due to a single season of collegiate football, and that the amount of reduction in midbrain white matter integrity is related to the amount of rotational acceleration to which players' brains are exposed. We then replicate the observation of reduced midbrain white matter integrity in a retrospective cohort of individuals with frank concussion, and further show that variance in white matter integrity is correlated with levels of serum-based tau, a marker of blood-brain barrier disruption. These findings mean that noninvasive structural MRI of the midbrain is a succinct index of both clinically silent white matter injury as well as frank concussion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adnan A. Hirad
- Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY 14642, USA
- Department of Clinical and Translational Science, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY 14642, USA
| | - Jeffrey J. Bazarian
- Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY 14642, USA
| | - Kian Merchant-Borna
- Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY 14642, USA
| | - Frank E. Garcea
- Center for Visual Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14642, USA
- Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute, Elkins Park, PA 19027, USA
| | - Sarah Heilbronner
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY 14642, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - David Paul
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY 14642, USA
| | - Eric B. Hintz
- Division of Neurosurgery, San Antonio Military Medical Center, San Antonio, TX 78234, USA
| | - Edwin van Wijngaarden
- Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY 14642, USA
| | - Giovanni Schifitto
- Department of Neurology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY 14642, USA
| | - David W. Wright
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Tamara R. Espinoza
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Bradford Z. Mahon
- Center for Visual Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14642, USA
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY 14642, USA
- Department of Neurology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY 14642, USA
- Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Carnegie Mellon Neuroscience Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
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