Tags

Type your tag names separated by a space and hit enter

Sex differences in white matter alterations following repetitive subconcussive head impacts in collegiate ice hockey players.
Neuroimage Clin 2018; 17:642-649NC

Abstract

Objective

Repetitive subconcussive head impacts (RSHI) may lead to structural, functional, and metabolic alterations of the brain. While differences between males and females have already been suggested following a concussion, whether there are sex differences following exposure to RSHI remains unknown. The aim of this study was to identify and to characterize sex differences following exposure to RSHI.

Methods

Twenty-five collegiate ice hockey players (14 males and 11 females, 20.6 ± 2.0 years), all part of the Hockey Concussion Education Project (HCEP), underwent diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) before and after the Canadian Interuniversity Sports (CIS) ice hockey season 2011-2012 and did not experience a concussion during the season. Whole-brain tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) were used to compare pre- and postseason imaging in both sexes for fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD), and radial diffusivity (RD). Pre- and postseason neurocognitive performance were assessed by the Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Test (ImPACT).

Results

Significant differences between the sexes were primarily located within the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), the internal capsule (IC), and the corona radiata (CR) of the right hemisphere (RH). In significant voxel clusters (p < 0.05), decreases in FA (absolute difference pre- vs. postseason: 0.0268) and increases in MD (0.0002), AD (0.00008), and RD (0.00005) were observed in females whereas males showed no significant changes. There was no significant correlation between the change in diffusion scalar measures over the course of the season and neurocognitive performance as evidenced from postseason ImPACT scores.

Conclusions

The results of this study suggest sex differences in structural alterations following exposure to RSHI. Future studies need to investigate further the underlying mechanisms and association with exposure and clinical outcomes.

Links

  • PMC Free PDF
    • Publisher Full Text
    ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
    linkinghub.elsevier.com

    Authors+Show Affiliations

    Sollmann N
    Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. Department of Neuroradiology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany. TUM-Neuroimaging Center, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany. Department of Neurosurgery, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany.
    Echlin PS
    Elliott Sports Medicine Clinic, Burlington, ON, Canada.
    Schultz V
    Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatic and Psychotherapy, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany.
    Viher PV
    Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry, Bern, Switzerland.
    Lyall AE
    Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
    Tripodis Y
    Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA. Boston University Alzheimer's Disease and CTE Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
    Kaufmann D
    Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatic and Psychotherapy, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany. Department of Radiology, Charité Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany.
    Hartl E
    Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. Department of Neurology, Epilepsy Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany.
    Kinzel P
    Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatic and Psychotherapy, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany.
    Forwell LA
    3M Centre, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.
    Johnson AM
    School of Health Studies, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.
    Skopelja EN
    Ruth Lilly Medical Library, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
    Lepage C
    Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
    Bouix S
    Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
    Pasternak O
    Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
    Lin AP
    Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. Center for Clinical Spectroscopy, Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
    Shenton ME
    Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. Center for Clinical Spectroscopy, Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. VA Boston Healthcare System, Brockton Division, Brockton, MA, USA.
    Koerte IK
    Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatic and Psychotherapy, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany. Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.

    MeSH

    Brain ConcussionDiffusion Tensor ImagingFemaleHockeyHumansImage Interpretation, Computer-AssistedMaleSex CharacteristicsWhite MatterYoung Adult

    Pub Type(s)

    Journal Article

    Language

    eng

    PubMed ID

    29204342

    Citation

    Sollmann, Nico, et al. "Sex Differences in White Matter Alterations Following Repetitive Subconcussive Head Impacts in Collegiate Ice Hockey Players." NeuroImage. Clinical, vol. 17, 2018, pp. 642-649.
    Sollmann N, Echlin PS, Schultz V, et al. Sex differences in white matter alterations following repetitive subconcussive head impacts in collegiate ice hockey players. Neuroimage Clin. 2018;17:642-649.
    Sollmann, N., Echlin, P. S., Schultz, V., Viher, P. V., Lyall, A. E., Tripodis, Y., ... Koerte, I. K. (2018). Sex differences in white matter alterations following repetitive subconcussive head impacts in collegiate ice hockey players. NeuroImage. Clinical, 17, pp. 642-649. doi:10.1016/j.nicl.2017.11.020.
    Sollmann N, et al. Sex Differences in White Matter Alterations Following Repetitive Subconcussive Head Impacts in Collegiate Ice Hockey Players. Neuroimage Clin. 2018;17:642-649. PubMed PMID: 29204342.
    * Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
    TY - JOUR T1 - Sex differences in white matter alterations following repetitive subconcussive head impacts in collegiate ice hockey players. AU - Sollmann,Nico, AU - Echlin,Paul S, AU - Schultz,Vivian, AU - Viher,Petra V, AU - Lyall,Amanda E, AU - Tripodis,Yorghos, AU - Kaufmann,David, AU - Hartl,Elisabeth, AU - Kinzel,Philipp, AU - Forwell,Lorie A, AU - Johnson,Andrew M, AU - Skopelja,Elaine N, AU - Lepage,Christian, AU - Bouix,Sylvain, AU - Pasternak,Ofer, AU - Lin,Alexander P, AU - Shenton,Martha E, AU - Koerte,Inga K, Y1 - 2017/11/21/ PY - 2017/07/29/received PY - 2017/11/08/revised PY - 2017/11/18/accepted PY - 2017/12/6/entrez PY - 2017/12/6/pubmed PY - 2018/8/1/medline KW - AD, axial diffusivity KW - CIS, Canadian Interuniversity Sports KW - CR, corona radiata KW - Diffusion tensor imaging KW - EC, external capsule KW - FA, fractional anisotropy KW - HCEP, Hockey Concussion Education Project KW - IC, internal capsule KW - Ice hockey KW - ImPACT, Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Test KW - LH, left hemisphere KW - MD, mean diffusivity KW - MRI, magnetic resonance imaging KW - NCAA, National Collegiate Athletic Association KW - RD, radial diffusivity KW - RH, right hemisphere KW - RSHI, repetitive subconcussive head impacts KW - Repetitive subconcussive head impacts KW - SD, standard deviation KW - SLF, superior longitudinal fasciculus KW - Sex difference KW - TBI, traumatic brain injury KW - TBSS, tract-based spatial statistics KW - Traumatic brain injury KW - WM, white matter KW - White matter KW - dMRI, diffusion magnetic resonance imaging KW - rs, Spearman's rank correlation coefficient SP - 642 EP - 649 JF - NeuroImage. Clinical JO - Neuroimage Clin VL - 17 N2 - Objective: Repetitive subconcussive head impacts (RSHI) may lead to structural, functional, and metabolic alterations of the brain. While differences between males and females have already been suggested following a concussion, whether there are sex differences following exposure to RSHI remains unknown. The aim of this study was to identify and to characterize sex differences following exposure to RSHI. Methods: Twenty-five collegiate ice hockey players (14 males and 11 females, 20.6 ± 2.0 years), all part of the Hockey Concussion Education Project (HCEP), underwent diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) before and after the Canadian Interuniversity Sports (CIS) ice hockey season 2011-2012 and did not experience a concussion during the season. Whole-brain tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) were used to compare pre- and postseason imaging in both sexes for fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD), and radial diffusivity (RD). Pre- and postseason neurocognitive performance were assessed by the Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Test (ImPACT). Results: Significant differences between the sexes were primarily located within the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), the internal capsule (IC), and the corona radiata (CR) of the right hemisphere (RH). In significant voxel clusters (p < 0.05), decreases in FA (absolute difference pre- vs. postseason: 0.0268) and increases in MD (0.0002), AD (0.00008), and RD (0.00005) were observed in females whereas males showed no significant changes. There was no significant correlation between the change in diffusion scalar measures over the course of the season and neurocognitive performance as evidenced from postseason ImPACT scores. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest sex differences in structural alterations following exposure to RSHI. Future studies need to investigate further the underlying mechanisms and association with exposure and clinical outcomes. SN - 2213-1582 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/29204342/Sex_differences_in_white_matter_alterations_following_repetitive_subconcussive_head_impacts_in_collegiate_ice_hockey_players_ L2 - https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2213-1582(17)30300-5 DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -