Lenio, Steven

Abstract INTRODUCTION Repetitive head impacts (RHI) from contact sports may cause a unique pattern of white matter hyperintensities (WMH) on T2‐weighted fluid‐attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), termed RHI‐associated WMH (RHI‐WMH). These lesions are punctate, circular, and located at the gray–white matter boundary, an area vulnerable to trauma‐related damage. METHODS We investigated the association of RHI with these lesions in two aging cohorts: (1) former American football players versus asymptomatic unexposed men and (2) individuals with RHI from various contact sports versus non‐RHI participants. RHI‐WMH were assessed using visual ratings and a novel automated quantification pipeline. RESULTS Individuals with RHI had greater RHI‐WMH by both detection methods in both cohorts. RHI‐WMH were associated with plasma neurofilament light and p‐tau231, and flortaucipir positron emission tomography (PET) uptake. DISCUSSION RHI‐WMH may represent a new supportive biomarker for the detection of RHI‐related neuropathologies later in life.

Importance Alzheimer disease (AD) biomarker and genetic testing results are increasingly disclosed to cognitively unimpaired adults in research and could in the future inform clinical treatment decisions in this population. Objectives To assess psychological outcomes after returning 3 categories of amyloid biomarker results as well as apolipoprotein E ( APOE ) genotypes. Design, Setting, and Participants This cohort study was a secondary analysis of data collected as part of screening for the multisite AHEAD preclinical AD trial. Participants were individuals aged 55 to 80 years undergoing screening from July 14, 2020, to October 15, 2024. Exposure Participants were informed whether they had not-detected, intermediate, or elevated amyloid positron emission tomography levels, as well as their APOE genotype, which were categorized as noncarrier, ε4 heterozygote, or ε4 homozygote. Main outcomes and measures Impact of Events Scale (IES; 15 items to assess intrusive thoughts and avoidance; each item is scored as not at all [0], rarely [1], sometimes [3], or often [5]; total range, 0-75), collected 24 to 72 hours after disclosure, and change in a scale measuring concerns about AD dementia (adapted scale using 6 items in which participants indicated their level of agreement with statements related to their perceived probability of developing AD dementia; items scored as strongly disagree [1] through strongly agree [5]; total range, 6-30), calculated by subtracting the score collected before biomarker testing from 1 collected after biomarker and genetic test results disclosure. Results Among 3414 included individuals, the mean (SD) age was 68.8 (6.0) years and 2116 (62%) were female. Group mean IES scores were below clinically significant thresholds. Nevertheless, across genetic groups, learning an elevated amyloid result (1184 participants) was associated with higher IES (mean [SD], 10.5 [10.9]) than intermediate amyloid (482 participants; mean [SD] IES, 8.8 [9.8]), and intermediate amyloid was associated with higher scores than not-detected amyloid (1748 participants; mean [SD] IES, 6.5 [8.4]). Across amyloid groups, learning APOE ε4 homozygosity (337 participants) was associated with higher mean (SD) IES (12.7 [11.6]) than heterozygosity (1609 participants; 9.1 [10.2]), and heterozygosity was associated with higher IES than noncarrier status (1468 participants; mean [SD] IES, 6.2 [8.1]). Both types of information were significant in an analysis of covariance model; no interaction effect was observed. In contrast, only biomarker disclosure was associated with differential change in concerns about AD dementia. Those with elevated amyloid showed a mean (SD) increase in concern (0.8 [3.5]), those with intermediate amyloid showed a smaller increase (0.4 [3.7]), and those with not-detected amyloid showed decreased concerns (−1.1 [4.2]). Conclusions and Relevance In this cohort study of cognitively unimpaired adults, associations with intrusive thoughts were observed to differ among genetic and biomarker subgroups; such associations were limited to biomarker subgroups for measures of perceived dementia risk.

Abstract Background Exposure to repetitive head impacts (RHI) is associated with developing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) neuropathology. Cognitive and behavioral symptoms have been associated with CTE neuropathology, but efforts to define the specific clinical syndrome are ongoing. This study characterizes the current use of centrally acting medications (CAMs), chronic pain, and number of orthopedic surgeries in former American football players and evaluates for associations with cognitive and behavioral symptoms. Methods This study analyzed data from the DIAGNOSE CTE Research Project, which includes 120 former professional football players, 60 collegiate football players, and 56 asymptomatic men without history of RHI. Medical history was obtained by self‐report, and participants completed the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Brief Pain Inventory, Barratt Impulsiveness Scale‐11 (BIS‐11), BRIEF‐A Behavioral Regulation Index (BRI), Beck Depression Inventory‐II (BDI‐II), Beck Anxiety Index (BAI), and Brown‐Goodwin Lifetime History of Aggression adulthood score (BGLHA). Logistic regression assessed the association of CAMs, average pain score, and orthopedic surgeries on the cognitive impairment and neurobehavioral dysregulation components of the NINDS traumatic encephalopathy syndrome (TES) research criteria, in former American football players. Linear regression assessed the associations with MoCA and behavioral scales. Models were adjusted for age, education, race, and years of football played. Results Tables 1 and 2 describe the sample and CAM burden. More orthopedic surgeries, CAMs, and higher average pain were observed in former American football players. Number of CAMs was associated with neurobehavioral dysregulation (OR = 2.18), lower MoCA (β = ‐0.47), and higher BIS‐11 (β = 2.23), BDI‐II (β = 2.01), BRI (β = 3.71), BAI (β = 2.04), and BGLHA (β = 0.68) scores. Higher average pain was associated with neurobehavioral dysregulation (OR = 1.57) and higher BIS‐11 (β = 2.20), BDI‐II (β = 1.98), BRI (β = 2.20), BAI (β = 1.84), and BGLHA (β = 0.52) scores. No associations were observed with orthopedic surgeries. Conclusions In former American football players, the number of CAMs and higher average pain were associated with neurobehavioral dysregulation. No associations were observed with diagnosis of cognitive impairment by TES criteria, though the number of CAMs was associated with decreased MoCA.