Imaging a Season of Hits

In a study of nonconcussed athletes, a subgroup shows changes from preseason, but everyone looks good at the start.

A season of subconcussive hits has been associated with mild cognitive problems in fewer than 25% of college athletes (NEJM JW Psychiatry 2012 Jun 11). However, preseason evaluations demonstrated no differences, suggesting recovery of function between seasons. Now, the same investigators look at pre- and postseason neurocognitive measures and white-matter integrity on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in 80 contact-sport athletes and 79 noncontact-sport athletes at Dartmouth College. Head impact exposure, via helmet sensors, was aggregated for the entire season and for the 2 weeks before the postseason evaluation. Participants were not concussed during the season.

Preseason cognition and DTI measures did not differ between groups. At the season…

Reviewing Author

Jonathan Silver, MD

Disclosures

RoyaltiesTextbook of Traumatic Brain Injury, 2nd and 3rd editions

Editorial BoardsUpToDate; Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesNorth American Brain Injury Association (Board Member); National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (Chair of Data Monitoring Safety Board for study of donepezil on cognition after traumatic brain injury)

Jonathan Silver, MD

Disclosures

RoyaltiesTextbook of Traumatic Brain Injury, 2nd and 3rd editions

Editorial BoardsUpToDate; Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience

Imaging a Season of Hits

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Reviewing Author