Age of first exposure to tackle football and years played associated
with less white matter in brain
New finding suggests that future therapies should target white matter
loss in former contact sport athletes

Date:
March 6, 2023
Source:
Boston University School of Medicine
Summary:
CTE is a progressive neurodegenerative disease frequently found
in contact sports athletes. However, many former contact sports
athletes suffer from thinking problems and impulsive behavior in
the absence of CTE, or with very mild CTE. This new study suggests
that a separate type of brain damage, which can appear earlier
than CTE, may underlie some of these symptoms.


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FULL STORY ========================================================================== Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is not the only problem football
players should be aware of. Long careers in American football are
linked to less white matter in the brain and associated with problems
with impulsive behavior and thinking according to a new study from the
Boston University CTE Center. This finding is independent of whether
football players had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).


==========================================================================
CTE is a progressive neurodegenerative disease frequently found in contact sports athletes. However, many former contact sports athletes suffer
from thinking problems and impulsive behavior in the absence of CTE,
or with very mild CTE. This new study suggests that a separate type of
brain damage, which can appear earlier than CTE, may underlie some of
these symptoms.

"Damage to the white matter may help explain why football players appear
more likely to develop cognitive and behavioral problems later in life,
even in the absence of CTE," said corresponding author Thor Stein, MD,
PhD, a neuropathologist at VA Boston Healthcare System and assistant
professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at Boston University
Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine.

The researchers studied the brains of 205 deceased American football
players donated to the Veterans Affairs-Boston University-Concussion
Legacy Foundation (VA-BU-CLF) Brain Bank and measured levels of
myelin, a component of white matter that covers, protects and speeds
up the connections in the brain. They then interviewed family members
on measures of cognition and impulsivity and then compared how career
length and age of beginning tackle football related to levels of myelin,
and how myelin levels related to cognition and impulsivity.

In addition to more years of football played, the researchers found that starting tackle football at a younger age was also related to more white
matter loss, independent of career length.

"These results suggest that existing tests that measure white matter
injury during life, including imaging and blood tests, may help to clarify potential causes of changes in behavior and cognition in former contact
sport athletes.

We can also use these tests to better understand how repeated hits to
the head from football and other sports lead to long term injury to the
white matter," said co-author Michael L. Alosco, PhD, associate professor
of neurology.

The researchers hope these findings help reinforce the idea that more
needs to be done to protect the brains of athletes, especially children,
from repeated hits to the head.

These finding appear online in the journal Brain Communications.

This work was supported by grant funding from: NIA (AG057902, AG06234, RF1AG054156), NINDS (U54NS115266, K23NS102399, RF1NS122854), National
Institute of Aging Boston University AD Center (P30AG072978); the United
States Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration,
BLRD Merit Award (I01BX005161); the Nick and Lynn Buoniconti Foundation,
and BU-CTSI Grant Number 1UL1TR001430. The views, opinions and/or findings contained in this article are those of the authors and should not be
construed as an official Veterans Affairs or Department of Defense
position, policy or decision, unless so designated by other official documentation. Funders did not have a role in the design and conduct of
the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the
data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; or decision
to submit the manuscript for publication.

* RELATED_TOPICS
o Health_&_Medicine
# Sports_Medicine # Psychology_Research # Nervous_System
# Brain_Tumor
o Mind_&_Brain
# Brain_Injury # Neuroscience # Intelligence # Psychology
* RELATED_TERMS
o Sports_medicine o Athletic_training o
Adult_attention-deficit_disorder o Parkinson's_disease o
Alzheimer's_disease o Psychology o Contact_lens o Measles

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
Boston_University_School_of_Medicine. Note: Content may be edited for
style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Michael L Alosco, Monica Ly, Sydney Mosaheb, Nicole Saltiel,
Madeline
Uretsky, Yorghos Tripodis, Brett Martin, Joseph Palmisano, Lisa
Delano- Wood, Mark W Bondi, Gaoyuan Meng, Weiming Xia, Sarah Daley,
Lee E Goldstein, Douglas I Katz, Brigid Dwyer, Daniel H Daneshvar,
Christopher Nowinski, Robert C Cantu, Neil W Kowall, Robert A Stern,
Victor E Alvarez, Jesse Mez, Bertrand Russell Huber, Ann C McKee,
Thor D Stein.

Decreased myelin proteins in brain donors exposed to
football-related repetitive head impacts. Brain Communications,
2023 DOI: 10.1093/ braincomms/fcad019 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/03/230306143450.htm

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