MSGID: 1:317/3 6406bdee   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Age of first exposure to tackle football and years played associated   
   with less white matter in brain    
    New finding suggests that future therapies should target white matter   
   loss in former contact sport athletes    
      
     Date:   
         March 6, 2023   
     Source:   
         Boston University School of Medicine   
     Summary:   
         CTE is a progressive neurodegenerative disease frequently found   
         in contact sports athletes. However, many former contact sports   
         athletes suffer from thinking problems and impulsive behavior in   
         the absence of CTE, or with very mild CTE. This new study suggests   
         that a separate type of brain damage, which can appear earlier   
         than CTE, may underlie some of these symptoms.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
   ==========================================================================   
   Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is not the only problem football   
   players should be aware of. Long careers in American football are   
   linked to less white matter in the brain and associated with problems   
   with impulsive behavior and thinking according to a new study from the   
   Boston University CTE Center. This finding is independent of whether   
   football players had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   CTE is a progressive neurodegenerative disease frequently found in contact   
   sports athletes. However, many former contact sports athletes suffer   
   from thinking problems and impulsive behavior in the absence of CTE,   
   or with very mild CTE. This new study suggests that a separate type of   
   brain damage, which can appear earlier than CTE, may underlie some of   
   these symptoms.   
      
   "Damage to the white matter may help explain why football players appear   
   more likely to develop cognitive and behavioral problems later in life,   
   even in the absence of CTE," said corresponding author Thor Stein, MD,   
   PhD, a neuropathologist at VA Boston Healthcare System and assistant   
   professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at Boston University   
   Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine.   
      
   The researchers studied the brains of 205 deceased American football   
   players donated to the Veterans Affairs-Boston University-Concussion   
   Legacy Foundation (VA-BU-CLF) Brain Bank and measured levels of   
   myelin, a component of white matter that covers, protects and speeds   
   up the connections in the brain. They then interviewed family members   
   on measures of cognition and impulsivity and then compared how career   
   length and age of beginning tackle football related to levels of myelin,   
   and how myelin levels related to cognition and impulsivity.   
      
   In addition to more years of football played, the researchers found that   
   starting tackle football at a younger age was also related to more white   
   matter loss, independent of career length.   
      
   "These results suggest that existing tests that measure white matter   
   injury during life, including imaging and blood tests, may help to clarify   
   potential causes of changes in behavior and cognition in former contact   
   sport athletes.   
      
   We can also use these tests to better understand how repeated hits to   
   the head from football and other sports lead to long term injury to the   
   white matter," said co-author Michael L. Alosco, PhD, associate professor   
   of neurology.   
      
   The researchers hope these findings help reinforce the idea that more   
   needs to be done to protect the brains of athletes, especially children,   
   from repeated hits to the head.   
      
   These finding appear online in the journal Brain Communications.   
      
   This work was supported by grant funding from: NIA (AG057902, AG06234,   
   RF1AG054156), NINDS (U54NS115266, K23NS102399, RF1NS122854), National   
   Institute of Aging Boston University AD Center (P30AG072978); the United   
   States Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration,   
   BLRD Merit Award (I01BX005161); the Nick and Lynn Buoniconti Foundation,   
   and BU-CTSI Grant Number 1UL1TR001430. The views, opinions and/or findings   
   contained in this article are those of the authors and should not be   
   construed as an official Veterans Affairs or Department of Defense   
   position, policy or decision, unless so designated by other official   
   documentation. Funders did not have a role in the design and conduct of   
   the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the   
   data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; or decision   
   to submit the manuscript for publication.   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Health_&_Medicine   
                   # Sports_Medicine # Psychology_Research # Nervous_System   
                   # Brain_Tumor   
             o Mind_&_Brain   
                   # Brain_Injury # Neuroscience # Intelligence # Psychology   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Sports_medicine o Athletic_training o   
             Adult_attention-deficit_disorder o Parkinson's_disease o   
             Alzheimer's_disease o Psychology o Contact_lens o Measles   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by   
   Boston_University_School_of_Medicine. Note: Content may be edited for   
   style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Michael L Alosco, Monica Ly, Sydney Mosaheb, Nicole Saltiel,   
      Madeline   
         Uretsky, Yorghos Tripodis, Brett Martin, Joseph Palmisano, Lisa   
         Delano- Wood, Mark W Bondi, Gaoyuan Meng, Weiming Xia, Sarah Daley,   
         Lee E Goldstein, Douglas I Katz, Brigid Dwyer, Daniel H Daneshvar,   
         Christopher Nowinski, Robert C Cantu, Neil W Kowall, Robert A Stern,   
         Victor E Alvarez, Jesse Mez, Bertrand Russell Huber, Ann C McKee,   
         Thor D Stein.   
      
         Decreased myelin proteins in brain donors exposed to   
         football-related repetitive head impacts. Brain Communications,   
         2023 DOI: 10.1093/ braincomms/fcad019   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/03/230306143450.htm   
      
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