National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke 5R01NS122854-03

Late Pathologies of Exposure to Repetitive Head Impacts from Contact Sports: White Matter and Vascular Contributions to Cognitive Impairment, Dementia, and Neuropsychiatric Symptoms

This NIH grant funds a study investigating the vascular and white matter contributions to cognitive impairment, dementia, and neuropsychiatric symptoms in former contact sport athletes exposed to repetitive head impacts. The research involves advanced imaging and biomarker analysis to understand the multifactorial causes of these conditions, aiming to inform intervention and prevention strategies.

Description

Exposure to repetitive head impacts (RHI) from contact sports has been associated with later life cognitive impairment, dementia, and neuropsychiatric disturbances including neurobehavioral dysregulation and depression. The etiology of these heterogeneous and non-specific symptoms is unclear and likely multifactorial. The proposed study will conduct sophisticated in vivo and ex vivo evaluations of white matter integrity and cerebrovascular disease to determine the vascular contributions to cognitive impairment, dementia, and neuropsychiatric syndromes in diverse and well-characterized cohorts of contact sport athletes from two major research centers and a U54 collaborative brain bank initiative.

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