Citations 1
Imaging the later‐life white matter pathologies of repetitive head impacts: A novel pattern revealed through T2 FLAIR MRI
Groh, Jenna R. , Miner, Annalise E., Alshikho, Mohamad J. , Farris, Chad, Cui, Anna, Pettway, Erika, Labonte, Jacob , Mosaheb, Sydney, Tripodis, Yorghos, Adler, Charles H., Balcer, Laura J. , Bernick, Charles, Cantu, Robert C., Dodick, David W., Ashton, Nicholas J., Zetterberg, Henrik, Blennow, Kaj, Peskind, Elaine R. , Nowinski, Christopher, Lenio, Steven, Rabinovici, Gil D., Asken, Breton, Rosen, Howard, Blusztajn, Jan Krzysztof , Budson, Andrew E., Turk, Katherine, Goldstein, Lee, Martin, Brett, Palmisano, Joseph N., Dixon, Diane, Schneider, Greta, Steinberg, Eric G., Su, Yi, Protas, Hillary , Pasternak, Ofer, Bouix, Sylvain, Cummings, Jeffrey L., Reiman, Eric M., Shenton, Martha E., Stern, Robert A., McKee, Ann C., Stein, Thor D., Brickman, Adam M., Mez, Jesse, Alosco, Michael L., Rabinovici, Gil D. , Rabinovici, Gil D , Miner, Annalise E., Farris, Chad W. , Cui, Anna, Pettway, Erika C, Tripodis, Yorghos , Adler, Charles H. , Bernick, Charles , Cantu, Robert C. , Coleman, Michael , Dodick, David W. , Ashton, Nicholas J. , Zetterberg, Henrik , Blennow, Kaj , Ly, Monica T. , Altaras, Caroline , Lenio, Steven , Asken, Breton M. , Cobigo, Yann , Budson, Andrew E. , Turk, Katherine W. , Qiu, Wei Qiao , Palmisano, Joseph , Steinberg, Eric G. , Pasternak, Ofer , Koerte, Inga K , Bouix, Sylvain , Reiman, Eric M. , Shenton, Martha E. , McKee, Ann C. , Stein, Thor D. , Brickman, Adam M. , Mez, Jesse , Alosco, Michael L.
Alzheimer's & Dementia | April 20, 2026 | Volume: 22 | Issue: 4 | Pages: No page available
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.