TY - JOUR
T1 - Mild cognitive impairment in retired professional football players with a history of mild traumatic brain injury
T2 - A pilot investigation
AU - Didehbani, Nyaz
AU - Fields, Lindy M.
AU - Wilmoth, Kristin
AU - Lobue, Christian
AU - Hart, John
AU - Cullum, C. Munro
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. All rights reserved.
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - Background:Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a known risk factor for neurodegenerative dementias such as Alzheimer disease (AD); however, the potential risk of mild cases of TBI, such as concussions, remains unclear.Objective:To explore whether a small sample of retired professional athletes with a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) - the prodromal stage of AD - and a history of multiple mild TBIs exhibit greater neuropsychological impairment than age-matched nonathletes with MCI and no history of TBI.Method:Ten retired National Football League players diagnosed with MCI and reporting multiple mild TBIs, and 10 nonathletes, also diagnosed with MCI but with no history of TBI, completed a standard neurologic examination and neuropsychological testing. Independent samples t tests were conducted to examine differences in neuropsychological performance between the two groups.Results:The retired athletes with a history of mild TBI obtained generally similar scores to the nonathlete controls on measures of verbal learning and memory, verbal fluency, and processing speed. However, the retired athletes scored lower than the controls on tests of confrontation naming and speeded visual attention.Conclusion:Retired athletes with MCI and a history of mild TBI demonstrated similar neuropsychological profiles as nonathlete controls despite lower scores on measures of confrontation naming and speeded visual attention. These findings suggest that a history of multiple mild TBIs does not significantly alter the overall neuropsychological profile of individuals with MCI; confirmation of this will require longitudinal research with larger sample sizes.
AB - Background:Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a known risk factor for neurodegenerative dementias such as Alzheimer disease (AD); however, the potential risk of mild cases of TBI, such as concussions, remains unclear.Objective:To explore whether a small sample of retired professional athletes with a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) - the prodromal stage of AD - and a history of multiple mild TBIs exhibit greater neuropsychological impairment than age-matched nonathletes with MCI and no history of TBI.Method:Ten retired National Football League players diagnosed with MCI and reporting multiple mild TBIs, and 10 nonathletes, also diagnosed with MCI but with no history of TBI, completed a standard neurologic examination and neuropsychological testing. Independent samples t tests were conducted to examine differences in neuropsychological performance between the two groups.Results:The retired athletes with a history of mild TBI obtained generally similar scores to the nonathlete controls on measures of verbal learning and memory, verbal fluency, and processing speed. However, the retired athletes scored lower than the controls on tests of confrontation naming and speeded visual attention.Conclusion:Retired athletes with MCI and a history of mild TBI demonstrated similar neuropsychological profiles as nonathlete controls despite lower scores on measures of confrontation naming and speeded visual attention. These findings suggest that a history of multiple mild TBIs does not significantly alter the overall neuropsychological profile of individuals with MCI; confirmation of this will require longitudinal research with larger sample sizes.
KW - aging
KW - athlete
KW - mild cognitive impairment
KW - mild traumatic brain injury
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U2 - 10.1097/WNN.0000000000000240
DO - 10.1097/WNN.0000000000000240
M3 - Article
C2 - 32889953
AN - SCOPUS:85090376707
SN - 1543-3633
VL - 33
SP - 208
EP - 217
JO - Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology
JF - Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology
IS - 3
ER -