Cerebral [18 F]T807/AV1451 retention pattern in clinically probable CTE resembles pathognomonic distribution of CTE tauopathy.

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disorder most commonly associated with repetitive traumatic brain injury (TBI) and characterized by the presence of neurofibrillary tangles of tau protein, known as a tauopathy. Currently, the diagnosis of CTE can only be definitively established postmortem. However, a new positron emission tomography (PET) ligand, [18F]T807/AV1451, may provide the antemortem detection of tau aggregates, and thus various tauopathies, including CTE. Our goal was to examine [18F]T807/AV1451 retention in athletes with neuropsychiatric symptoms associated with a history of multiple concussions. Here we report a 39-year-old retired National Football League player who suffered 22 concussions and manifested progressive neuropsychiatric symptoms. Emotional lability and irritability were the chief complaints. Serial neuropsychological exams revealed a decline in executive functioning, processing speed and fine motor skills. Naming was below average but other cognitive functions were preserved. Structural analysis of longitudinally acquired magenetic resonance imaging scans revealed cortical thinning in the left frontal and lateral temporal areas, as well as volume loss in the basal ganglia. PET with [18F]florbetapir was negative for amyloidosis. The [18F]T807/AV1451 PET showed multifocal areas of retention at the cortical gray matter-white matter junction, a distribution considered pathognomonic for CTE. [18F]T807/AV1451 standard uptake value (SUV) analysis showed increased uptake (SUVr⩾1.1) in bilateral cingulate, occipital, and orbitofrontal cortices, and several temporal areas. Although definitive identification of the neuropathological underpinnings basis for [18F]T807/AV1451 retention requires postmortem correlation, our data suggest that [18F]T807/AV1451 tauopathy imaging may be a promising tool to detect and diagnose CTE-related tauopathy in living subjects.

Neurologic aspects of boxing.

The assessment and prevention of potentially adverse neurologic consequences of boxing requires two important considerations. Acute neurologic injuries should be distinguished from chronic brain injuries and the level of competitive boxing (ie, amateur vs professional) must also be taken into account. Acute neurologic injuries such as concussion, post-concussion syndrome, intracranial hemorrhage, and brain contusion are more readily identified than chronic neurologic injuries because of their immediate devastation of the nervous system. In contrast, chronic neurologic injuries differ in their pathophysiologic mechanisms that are exemplified by an insidious onset and progression after the cessation of boxing. Accordingly, the chronic traumatic encephalopathy of boxing poses the most serious neurologic threat of boxing. Amateur boxing differs from professional boxing in the duration of fights, rules and regulatory policies, medical evaluation, and protective devices. These factors could produce a differential effect on the risk of injury to the brain. The prevention of neurologic injuries in boxing requires the integration of proper neurologic evaluation by qualified ring-side physicians, the design and utilization of effective protective devices, and the establishment of national regulatory agencies.

Magnetic resonance imaging in amateur boxers.

Nine amateur boxers who participated in the 1985 and 1986 New York City Golden Gloves competition underwent detailed neurologic examinations and magnetic resonance (MR) scanning. All nine boxers were medically suspended secondary to a knockout or excessive head blows. Neurologic examination results and MR scans were normal in all nine boxers. Failure to detect abnormalities on the MR scan, by neurologic examination, or both in these amateur boxers may reflect several factors, including a small sample size, the duration between their last bout and neurologic evaluation, and the lower exposure to head trauma among amateur boxers compared with professionals.

Chronic traumatic brain injury in professional soccer players.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the presence of chronic traumatic brain injury in professional soccer players. METHODS: Fifty-three active professional soccer players from several professional Dutch soccer clubs were compared with a control group of 27 elite noncontact sport athletes. All participants underwent neuropsychological examination. The main outcome measures were neuropsychological tests proven to be sensitive to cognitive changes incurred during contact and collision sports. RESULTS: The professional soccer players exhibited impaired performances in memory, planning, and visuoperceptual processing when compared with control subjects. Among professional soccer players, performance on memory, planning, and visuoperceptual tasks were inversely related to the number of concussions incurred in soccer and the frequency of "heading" the ball. Performance on neuropsychological testing also varied according to field position, with forward and defensive players exhibiting more impairment. CONCLUSION: Participation in professional soccer may affect adversely some aspects of cognitive functioning (i.e., memory, planning, and visuoperceptual processing).

Berg balance scale and outcome measures in acquired brain injury.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship of the Berg Balance Scale (BBS) to outcome after acquired brain injury. METHODS: Forty consecutive patients with acquired brain injury were admitted for multidisciplinary rehabilitation. Patients were assessed with the BBS. The BBS was originally designed as a quantitative measure of balance and risk for falls in community-dwelling elderly patients. The BBS comprises 14 different tasks graded on a 56-point scale. Community-dwelling elders with a BBS score of < or = 42 have > 90% risk for falls. RESULTS: In our study, there were 27 patients with a low BBS score (< or = 42) and 13 patients with a high BBS score (> or = 43). The discharge total Functional Independence Measure (FIM) scores were lower in the low BBS patients (96.4 +/- 21.2) compared with the high BBS patients (111.5 +/- 12.5) (p < 0.007). The length of stay (LOS) was significantly longer in the low BBS patients (38.9 +/- 18.5 days) compared with the high BBS patients (14.2 +/- 6.1 days; p < 0.000). Among the three patients that experienced falls during their hospitalization, all exhibited low BBS scores. The admission BBS score strongly correlated with admission total FIM scores (r = 0.86; p < 0.000) and moderately correlated with discharge total FIM scores (r = 0.56; p < 0.000) and LOS (r = -0.55; p < 0.000). Using a multiple regression analysis, the admission FIM score was found to be the better predictor of discharge FIM scores, and time admitted after injury was the better predictor of LOS. CONCLUSIONS: Prediction of rehabilitative outcome might be enhanced by the use of the BBS scores in combination with other clinical measures on admission to inpatient acute rehabilitation.

Concussion history in elite male and female soccer players.

A unique feature of soccer is the purposeful use of the head for controlling, passing, and shooting a soccer ball. Some concern has been expressed in the literature on the cumulative effects of heading on soccer players. Certain neurophysiologic and neuropsychologic changes have been reported in current or retired players, with heading being blamed. A major factor that could influence some of the findings is a player's history of concussive episodes, which are known to influence brain function. These episodes can occur during aspects of the game other than heading. We interviewed all male and female soccer players (N = 137, average age = 20.5 years) who competed at the U.S. Olympic Sports Festival in 1993. The mechanisms of injuries, frequency, and sequelae were determined. There were 74 concussions in 39 male players (grade I = 50) and 28 concussions in 23 female players (grade I = 19). For the men, 48 of the 74 episodes were from collisions with another player. For the women, 20 of 28 were from such collisions. Headaches, being "dazed," and dizziness were the most common symptoms reported. Based on concussion history, the odds are 50% that a man, and 22% that a woman, will sustain a concussion within a 10-year period. The data indicate that concussions from player-to-player contact are a frequent hazard in soccer. Head injuries incurred this way may be more of an influence for published findings of physiologic and psychologic deficiencies than routine heading of the soccer ball.

Medical and safety reforms in boxing.

The continued existence of boxing as an accepted sport in civilized society has been long debated. The position of the American Medical Association (AMA) has evolved from promoting increased safety and medical reform to recommending total abolition of both amateur and professional boxing. In response to the AMA opposition to boxing, the boxing community has attempted to increase the safeguards in amateur and professional boxing.The United States of America Amateur Boxing Federation, which is the national regulatory agency for all amateur boxing in the United States, has taken several actions to prevent the occurrence of acute brain injury and is currently conducting epidemiologic studies to assess the long-term neuropsychologic consequences of amateur boxing. In professional boxing, state regulatory agencies such as the New York State Athletic Commission have introduced several medical interventions to prevent and reduce neurologic injury. The lack of a national regulatory agency to govern professional boxing has stimulated the formation of the Association of Boxing Commissions and potential legislation for the federal regulation of professional boxing by a federally chartered organization called the United States Boxing Commission. The AMA's opposition to boxing and the medical and safety reforms implemented by the proponents of boxing are discussed.

The relevance of ethnic influences on pharmacogenetics to the treatment of psychosis.

Interethnic variation amongst the drug metabolising enzymes relevant to the treatment of psychosis is reviewed. The frequency of genetically determined variants at the extremes of enzyme activity is seen to vary considerably between different ethnic groups; in addition, a shift in the frequency distribution giving an overall lower population mean activity may occur. The role of dietary and other environmental influences in the generation of interethnic variation in cytochrome activity is also discussed. Clinical studies pertinent to this variation are reviewed. It is suggested that the reason for conflicting data from some clinical studies is the existence of overlapping substrate specificity, so that one cytochrome is able to substitute for another. Individuals deficient for more than one cytochrome would be likely to show much more pronounced clinical effects than those showing single cytochrome deficiency.

Neurological syndromes complicating AIDS.

PIP: This article presents a preliminary analysis of 118 acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients with neurologic disease. 86% of patients in this series were homosexual, and the AIDS diagnosis was made on the basis of opportunistic infection in almost 50% and of Kaposi's sarcoma with or without opportunistic infection in 38%. Central nervous system (CNS) infections (e.g., subacute encephalitis, toxoplasmosis, primary CNS lymphoma) were the most common group of complications, and autopsy findings indicated that 87% of patients eventually developed CNS complications. Subacute encephalitis was found alone or with other pathology in over 2/3 of autopsied brains. Principal neuropathologic changes in AIDS include the presence of scattered glial nodules, especially in gray matter. To define the clinical features of the glial nodule subacute encephalitis, the clinical features of 18 patients exhibiting these changes at postmortem examination were further analyzed. With the exception of seizures, clinical manifestations were nonfocal, correlating with the diffuse distribution of the microscopic pathology. CNS symptoms most commonly followed the diagnosis of AIDS by 2-9 months, and 11 of these 18 patients died within 6 months of onset of CNS dysfunction. The electroencephalogram (EEG) was abnormal in 100% of patients tested, while computerized tomographic (CT) scans were abnormal in 70%, with cortical atrophy being the most common finding. The cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) was abnormal in 67%. Early complaints were difficulty in concentration or memory loss which progressed in some to severe global dementia or coma. Neither the etiology nor the pathogenesis of subacute encephalitis have been established, although cytomegalovirus is regarded as a prime etiologic candidate.^ieng

Genetic susceptibility to brain injury in sports: a role for genetic testing in athletes?

Technological advances in molecular biology during the next millennium may cause an explosion of genetic information about athletes' predisposition to illness and injury. Recent discoveries about a possible genetic predisposition to brain injury in boxers may be the tip of the iceberg, with far-reaching implications for members of the sports medicine community.

Acute Injuries Among Professional Boxers in New York State: A Two-Year Survey.

In brief: Over a two-year period, we reviewed all acute boxing injuries among professional boxers statewide (484 the first year, 422 the second year). During the study period, the boxers fought 3,110 rounds and incurred 376 injuries (262 craniocerebral injuries, 114 other injuries), ie, they incurred 1.2 injuries per 10 rounds fought (0.8 craniocerebral, 0.4 others). Only four boxers required immediate neurological evaluation at a hospital after a fight; one of the four died as a result of bilateral subdural hematomas. Facial lacerations were the most common other type of injury (66 cases), followed by hand and eye injuries (8 cases each). The authors suggest that severe, acute neurological injuries are rare in professional boxing when strict medical supervision is present. However, they caution that their findings should not be used to draw inferences about the development of chronic neurological injuries among professional boxers.

Amateur Boxing Injuries at the US Olympic Training Center.

In brief: A survey was conducted of boxing injuries at the US Olympic Training Center (USOTC) from January 1977 through August 1987. The purpose was to determine the types of acute and chronic injuries sustained by amateurs during training, sparring, and competition. During the study period 447 injuries occurred. (The total number of boxers was unobtainable.) Most injuries were to the upper extremity (32.9%), followed by the lower extremity (23.9%), head and face (including eyes, ears, nose, and mouth/throat) (20.5%), and back (6.9%). Cerebral injuries accounted for only 6.5% of all injuries, probably because boxing at the USOTC is primarily noncompetitive and more blows to the head occur during competition than during sparring and training.

Sparring and cognitive function in professional boxers.

A volunteer group of 42 professional boxers provided information about their careers and training practices and underwent neuropsychological testing. Performance on the neuropsychological tests was not associated with age, boxing record (wins, losses, or total number of bouts), length of career, or history of knockout or technical knockout. However, the amount of sparring the boxers did was inversely associated with their performance on several of the tests. Impairments revealed by the tests were in the areas of attention, concentration, and memory.

Delayed Presentation of Subdural Hematoma.

In brief A 72-year-old man and a 47-year-old woman presented with subdural hematomas more than a month after repeated head injuries incurred while skiing. Neither had lost consciousness. The man had remained asymptomatic for 3 weeks, then had developed a bifrontal headache of increasing intensity and frequency. CT scan revealed a large left subdural hematoma. The woman had experienced intermittent symptoms, including headache, light-headedness, paresthesias, and lower-extremity weakness, for 4½ months before MRI revealed bilateral hematomas. Acute hemorrhage into a chronic subdural hematoma may explain the delayed onset of symptoms in these patients.

Acute Cervical Radiculopathy in Weight Lifters.

In brief: While weight lifting, three athletes experienced neck or shoulder/scapular pain that radiated down the arm and that was associated with segmental weakness and paresthesia. Magnetic resonance imaging and/or cervical spine radiographs showed degenerative changes of the cervical spine, and each athlete was diagnosed with acute radiculopathy. Conservative management of such patients involves restricted activity, the use of analgesics and anti-inflammatories, and the application of a cervical collar. Once the symptoms have subsided, the athlete can gradually resume activities, provided that there are no structural lesions of the cervical spine that will predispose the athlete to further injury.

Acute traumatic brain injury in amateur boxing.

UNLABELLED: Via neuropsychological testing, this research team found post-match cognitive impairment in amateur boxers despite the fighters' use of headgear. BACKGROUND: Acute traumatic brain injury (ATBI) represents the neurologic consequence of concussive and subconcussive blows to the head. Evidence suggests that ATBI may be associated with boxing and collision sports such as American football and soccer, thus potentially exposing millions of athletes annually. OBJECTIVE: The objectives of this study were to determine whether significant ATBI occurs in boxers who compete and, if present, the nature of the cognitive impairment. A secondary objective was to determine if headgear could reduce the risk for ATBI in amateur boxing. DESIGN: In this inception cohort study, 38 amateur boxers underwent neuropsychological examination before and shortly after a boxing match and were compared with a control group of 28 amateur boxers who were tested before and after a comparable physical test. The main outcome measures were neuropsychological tests (memory, mental and fine-motor speed, planning, and attention) proven to be sensitive to cognitive changes incurred in contact and collision sports. RESULTS: The boxers who competed exhibited an ATBI pattern of impaired performance in planning, attention, and memory capacity when compared with controls. They had significantly different findings in the Categorization Task Test (P = 0.047); Digit Symbol Test (P = 0.02); Logical Memory: Short Term Memory and Long Term Memory subtests (both tests, P < 0.001); and Visual Reproduction: Short Term Memory subtest (P < 0.001) and Long Term Memory subtest (P < 0.03). CONCLUSION: Participation in amateur boxing matches may diminish neurocognitive functioning despite the use of headgear. The neurocognitive impairment resembles cognitive symptoms due to concussions. Guidelines are needed to reduce the risk for repeated ATBI.

Brain Contusion and Cervical Fracture in a Professional Boxer.

In brief: A 22-year-old professional boxer suffered a brain contusion associated with uncal herniation and cervical spine fracture in the ring. Unlike most catastrophic acute brain injuries in boxing, this one had a relatively favorable outcome. The authors discuss the role of emergency medical services in minimizing brain injury in boxing and the treatment of acute head trauma.