Athletes May Have White Matter Brain Changes 6 months After Concussion

New research presented at a sports concussion conference hosted by the American Academy of Pediatrics of Neurology in July 2016 has detected white matter changes in the brains of athletes six months after a concussion. (1)

Previous research has indicated that concussion produces acute anatomical and physiological changes to the brain; however the duration of these changes is not known. To examine the impact of concussion on white matter tracts – which are especially vulnerable to traumatic brain injury – over time, Melissa Lancaster, PhD, of the Medical College of Wisconsin, and colleagues conducted diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and diffusion kurtosis tensor imaging (DKTI) in 17 high school and college football players who experienced a sports-related concussion. The scans, which track the movement of water molecules in brain tissue, are used to measure microstructural changes in white matter, which connects different brain regions. The athletes with concussion, and a control group of 18 carefully matched athletes who had not experienced concussion, were also assessed for concussion symptoms, balance problems, and cognitive impairment, or memory and thinking problems, at 24 hours, eight days and six months following the concussion.  

Those who had concussions had less water movement, or diffusion, in the acute stages following concussion (24 hours, six days) compared to those who did not have concussions. These microstructural changes still persisted six months after the injury. Also, those who had more severe symptoms at the time of the concussion were more likely to have alterations in the brain’s white matter six months later.