Brain Injury, Chronic

THURSDAY, Dec. 5, 2024. Hockey players’ chances of developing concussion-related brain injury increase with every year they spend on the ice, a new study finds. The odds of having chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) increase among hockey players 34% for each year played, researchers reported Dec. 4 in JAMA Network Open . Results show 18 out of 19 National Hockey League players had CTE , a degenerative brain disease caused by repeated concussions, researchers found. However, CTE wasn’t found in a single hockey player who spent fewer than six years competing, researchers report. “Ice hockey players with longer careers not only were more likely to have CTE, but they also had more severe disease,” said researcher Dr. Jesse Mez , co-director of clinical research at the Boston University CTE Center. “We hope this data will help inspire changes to make the game safer as well as help former ice hockey players impacted by CTE get the care they need,” Mez added in a university news release. For the study, they studied the donated brains of 77 deceased male ice hockey players. They also tracked each player’s career, to see how their amateur or professional play might have affected their brain health. They found that 96% (27 of 28) pro hockey players had CTE brain damage. By comparison, only 46% of college and semi-pro players (13 of 28) had CTE, and just 10% of youth and high school players (2 of 21). Interestingly, they found that enforcers did not have a statistically significant higher risk of CTE than other players after accounting for years of play, even though enforcers are meant to engage in more physical and violent play during hockey games. “Enforcers have dominated the CTE conversation, but our findings provide the most evidence for the cumulative amount of play as the predominant risk factor for CTE,” Mez said. “The takeaway here is that non-enforcers are getting CTE as well. Ice hockey players skate quickly, and checking leads to impacts with other players, the ice, boards and glass,” Mez added. “We think years of play is a proxy for these impacts that are harder to measure directly, but are likely what are leading to the disease.” Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.

MONDAY, Dec. 2, 2024 -- Concussion -related brain damage can combine with a family history of mental illness to make some athletes and military personnel prone to aggression and violence in middle age, a new study says. People with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) are at higher risk of mood changes and dementia, but this study shows that aggression is another risk posed by the condition. “This appears to be a case where together these risk factors add up to a greater risk for aggression than they each do on their own, where people with CTE and a family history of mental illness are much more likely to have aggressive behavior than those with just CTE or just the family history,” researcher Dr. Jesse Mez , an associate professor of neurology with the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, said in a news release. Some individual cases have already highlighted the potential link between CTE and violence. For example, former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez hanged himself in jail at age 27 following his conviction for the murder of a friend. Autopsy of his brain revealed it was riddled with CTE damage, particularly in regions associated with decision-making and judgment. In this study, researchers looked at 845 men exposed to repetitive head impacts through contact sports or military service, including 329 who played professional football. All donated their brains to research after death. About 70% had CTE, and 45% had a family history of mental illness, researchers said. The research team interviewed family about each man’s aggressive behavior, and whether any close relatives had ever been diagnosed with major depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, PTSD, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or any other mood or mental illnesses. Results show that men with CTE and a family history of mental illness were more likely to get into arguments or physical fights with other people. “This relationship was most striking for participants who died between 40 and 59 years old,” Mez said. The association held even after accounting for other risk factors, such as their total years playing contact sports or serving in the military, researchers said. However, people without CTE did not have an increased risk of aggressive behavior, even if they had a family history of mental illness, “The link between a family history of mental illness and aggression may be through a shared genetic background and also through shared environment and common behaviors, such as childhood experiences with family members,” Mez said. “Identifying people who are more likely to show symptoms of aggression based on family history of mental illness would give us a way to predict the consequences of CTE and identify who may benefit most from treatment options,” he added. The new study was published Nov. 27 in the journal Neurology . Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.

CHICAGO, Nov. 27, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Soccer heading may cause more damage to the brain than previously thought, according to a study being presented next week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). Heading is a widely used technique in soccer where the players control the direction of the ball by hitting it with their head. In recent years, research has been done that suggests a link between repeated head impacts and neurodegenerative diseases, such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). "The potential effects of repeated head impacts in sport are much more extensive than previously known and affect locations similar to where we've seen CTE pathology," said study senior author Michael L. Lipton, M.D., Ph.D., professor of radiology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York. "This raises concern for delayed adverse effects of head impacts." While prior studies have identified injuries to the brain's white matter in soccer players, Dr. Lipton and colleagues utilized a new approach to an advanced brain imaging technique called diffusion MRI to analyze microstructure close to the surface of the brain. To identify how repeated head impacts affect the brain, the researchers compared brain MRIs of 352 male and female amateur soccer players, ranging in age from 18 to 53, to brain MRIs of 77 non-collision sport athletes, such as runners. Soccer players who headed the ball at high levels showed abnormality of the brain's white matter adjacent to sulci, which are deep grooves in the brain's surface. Abnormalities in this region of the brain are known to occur in very severe traumatic brain injuries. The abnormalities were most prominent in the frontal lobe of the brain, an area most susceptible to damage from trauma and frequently impacted during soccer heading. More repetitive head impacts were also associated with poorer verbal learning. "Our analysis showed that the white matter abnormalities represent a mechanism by which heading leads to worse cognitive performance," Dr. Lipton said. Most of the participants of the study had never sustained a concussion or been diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury. This suggests that repeated head impacts that don't result in serious injury may still adversely affect the brain. "The study identifies structural brain abnormalities from repeated head impacts among healthy athletes," Dr. Lipton said. "The abnormalities occur in the locations most characteristic of CTE, are associated with worse ability to learn a cognitive task and could affect function in the future." The results of this study are also relevant to head injuries from other contact sports. The researchers stress the importance of knowing the risks of repeated head impacts and their potential to harm brain health over time. "Characterizing the potential risks of repetitive head impacts can facilitate safer sport engagement to maximize benefits while minimizing potential harms," Dr. Lipton said. "The next phase of the study is ongoing and examines the brain mechanisms underlying the MRI effects and potential protective factors." Co-authors are Bluyé Demessie, A.B., M.S., Walter F. Stewart, Ph.D., Richard B. Lipton, M.D., Molly E. Zimmerman, Ph.D., Mimi Kim, Sc.D., Kenny Ye, Ph.D., Thomas Kaminski and Roman Fleysher, Ph.D. This study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and The Dana Foundation. Note: Copies of RSNA 2024 news releases and electronic images will be available online at RSNA.org/press24. RSNA is an association of radiologists, radiation oncologists, medical physicists and related scientists promoting excellence in patient care and health care delivery through education, research and technologic innovation. The Society is based in Oak Brook, Illinois. (RSNA.org) For patient-friendly information on brain MRI, visit RadiologyInfo.org. SOURCE Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM? 440k+ Newsrooms & Influencers 9k+ Digital Media Outlets 270k+ Journalists Opted In GET STARTED