Brain MR elastography in athletes with repeated, subconcussive head impacts

Abstract

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major health problem and the CDC estimates that approximately 1.4 million TBIs occur each year in" the US. TBI has emerged as one of the most important medical problems related to military deployment; 10% of a cohort of 2,525 sold""iersreturning from Iraq reported an injury that led to altered mental status. The spectrum of TBIs occurring from head impact, head"" acceleration, or blast can also include long term effects from even subtle injuries. Contact sport participants with histories of r""epeated, subconcussive head impacts also appear to have high incidence of memory impairment, depression, and dementia, and provide a""n important population to study to understand the mechanisms underlying thepathology resulting from TBI.In this project, we will a""pply the novel neuroimaging technique, magnetic resonance elastography (MRE), to assess brain health in traumatic brain injury (TBI)"" through tissue mechanical properties. We will use MRE to examine the brains of collegiate that experiencerepeated, subconcussive h""ead impacts as part of their sport (i.e. ice hockey players), and will compare them with age- and gender-matched control subjects. A""dditionally, we will perform imaging studies both before and after the hockey season to determine how the brain changes due to expos"ure to repeated head impacts. These changes will further be correlated withbiomechanical head impact data recorded during games and practices through head-worn accelerometers.

Document Details

Document Type
DoD Grant Award
Publication Date
Dec 20, 2017
Source ID
N000141812018

Entities

People

  • Curtis L Johnson

Organizations

  • Office of Naval Research
  • United States Navy
  • University of Delaware

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Medicine

Readers

  • Neurotrauma and Rehabilitation Medicine.
  • Psychological Intervention/Treatment for Stress, Anxiety, PTSD, and Related Emotional and Cognitive Health Symptoms.
  • Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Cognitive Aging in the Guam and Border Populations Affected by Alzheimer's Disease and Tau-Associated Dementias.