"Nonconcussed Footballers May Still Sustain Brain Injury" - Judy George
A single high-acceleration head impact may lead to elevations in blood biomarkers typically associated with traumatic brain injury (TBI) even if there is no diagnosable concussion, a small prospective study of high-school varsity football players suggested. “The finding of elevated post-season levels of neuronal and axonal tau in controls suggests that football play, even in the absence of high-acceleration head impact, may not be inconsequential for brain health,” observed Kristen Dams-O’Connor, PhD, associate professor of rehabilitation medicine, neurology and co-director of the Brain Injury Research Center at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, who was not involved in the study. While "we don't know the clinical relevance of the biomarker elevations noted here, their association with objective measures of head impact is nonetheless important, and it may be that clinical relevance only becomes evident after several seasons,” she added.
- Kristen Dams-O’Connor, PhD, Associate Professor, Rehabilitation Medicine, Neurology, Co-Director, Brain Injury Research Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai