Faculty Collaboration Database

A Longitudinal Assessment of Structural and Chemical Alterations in Mixed Martial Arts Fighters. J Neurotrauma 2015 Nov 15;32(22):1759-67

Date

06/23/2015

Pubmed ID

26096140

DOI

10.1089/neu.2014.3833

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-84947062860 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   37 Citations

Abstract

Growing evidence suggests that temporally proximal acute concussions and repetitive subconcussive head injuries may lead to long-term neurological deficits. However, the underlying mechanisms of injury and their relative time-scales are not well documented in human injury models. The current study therefore investigated whether biomarkers of brain chemistry (magnetic resonance [MR] spectroscopy: N-acetylaspartate [NAA], combined glutamate and glutamine [Glx], total creatine [Cre], choline compounds [Cho], and myo-inositol [mI]) and structure (cortical thickness, white matter [WM]/subcortical volume) differed between mixed martial artists (MMA; n = 13) and matched healthy controls (HC) without a history of contact sport participation (HC; n = 14). A subset of participants (MMA = 9; HC = 10) returned for follow-up visits, with MMA (n = 3) with clinician-documented acute concussions also scanned serially. As expected, MMA self-reported a higher incidence of previous concussions and significantly more cognitive symptoms during prior concussion recovery. Fighters also exhibited reduced memory and processing speed relative to controls on neuropsychological testing coupled with cortical thinning in the left posterior cingulate gyrus and right occipital cortex at baseline assessment. Over a 1-year follow-up period, MMA experienced a significant decrease in both WM volume and NAA concentration, as well as relative thinning in the left middle and superior frontal gyri. These longitudinal changes did not correlate with self-reported metrics of injury (i.e., fight diary). In contrast, HC did not exhibit significant longitudinal changes over a 4-month follow-up period (p > 0.05). Collectively, current results provide preliminary evidence of progressive changes in brain chemistry and structure over a relatively short time period in individuals with high exposure to repetitive head hits. These findings require replication in independent samples.

Author List

Mayer AR, Ling JM, Dodd AB, Gasparovic C, Klimaj SD, Meier TB

Author

Timothy B. Meier PhD Associate Professor in the Neurosurgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Adolescent
Adult
Biomarkers
Brain Chemistry
Brain Concussion
Cerebral Cortex
Executive Function
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Longitudinal Studies
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Martial Arts
Memory
Middle Aged
Neuropsychological Tests
White Matter
Young Adult