{"id":{"repo_id":"bu","oai_identifier":"oai:open.bu.edu:2144/43494"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/bu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/43494","repository":{"repo_id":"bu","name":"Boston University","base_url":"https://open.bu.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"The effect of repetitive head impact exposure on white matter lesion volume","abstract":"Contact and collision sports (CCS) expose athletes to countless repetitive head impacts (RHI) across a single season, potentially leading to increased risk of long-term difficulties in cognition and the development of neurodegenerative disease. There is mixed literature on whether RHI from CCS result in changes to white matter and long-term neurobehavioral outcomes, therefore this research project seeks to provide supporting evidence by comparing the total volume of fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) white matter lesions in individuals with a history of RHI from CCS to those without a history of RHI from the Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (BU ADRC). The RHI participants were matched to a group of non-RHI participants based on age (+/- 5 years). Effects of RHI on white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) are evaluated, while considering hippocampal volume across RHI and non-RHI groups. When controlling for age, sex, education, and total hippocampal volume, those with a history of football were found to have a significantly greater WMH volume (p=.02) compared to those without a history of football play. Compared to the non-RHI group, the RHI group including all athletes (n=42) had a greater WMH volume, although it did not reach a level of significance (p=.91). This investigation provided preliminary evidence for a link between high RHI exposure and WMHs in football players, and a non-significant relationship between RHI and increased WMHs in those with a history of CCS compared to individuals in the non-RHI group. Future research should expand upon this investigation, by examining RHI exposure and WMH consequences in a diverse assortment of sports, follow athletes longitudinally for repeated in vivo MRIs and post-mortem neuropathological confirmation, and include more female athletes.","abstract_html":"Contact and collision sports (CCS) expose athletes to countless repetitive head impacts (RHI) across a single season, potentially leading to increased risk of long-term difficulties in cognition and the development of neurodegenerative disease. There is mixed literature on whether RHI from CCS result in changes to white matter and long-term neurobehavioral outcomes, therefore this research project seeks to provide supporting evidence by comparing the total volume of fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) white matter lesions in individuals with a history of RHI from CCS to those without a history of RHI from the Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (BU ADRC). The RHI participants were matched to a group of non-RHI participants based on age (+/- 5 years). Effects of RHI on white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) are evaluated, while considering hippocampal volume across RHI and non-RHI groups. When controlling for age, sex, education, and total hippocampal volume, those with a history of football were found to have a significantly greater WMH volume (p=.02) compared to those without a history of football play. Compared to the non-RHI group, the RHI group including all athletes (n=42) had a greater WMH volume, although it did not reach a level of significance (p=.91). This investigation provided preliminary evidence for a link between high RHI exposure and WMHs in football players, and a non-significant relationship between RHI and increased WMHs in those with a history of CCS compared to individuals in the non-RHI group. Future research should expand upon this investigation, by examining RHI exposure and WMH consequences in a diverse assortment of sports, follow athletes longitudinally for repeated in vivo MRIs and post-mortem neuropathological confirmation, and include more female athletes.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Nowak, Christina Marie"],"institution":null,"degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Alosco, Michael L.","Killiany, Ronald"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2021,"date_issued":"2021","date_published":"2021","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:25:47Z","subjects":["Neurosciences","Chronic traumatic encephalopathy","Cognitive function","Repetitive head impacts","Subconcussive","White matter hyperintensities","White matter lesions"],"languages":["en_US"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/2144/43494","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Alosco, Michael L.","Killiany, Ronald"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Nowak, Christina Marie"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2021-12-20T19:47:57Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2021-12-20T19:47:57Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2021"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis/Dissertation"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Neurosciences","Chronic traumatic encephalopathy","Cognitive function","Repetitive head impacts","Subconcussive","White matter hyperintensities","White matter lesions"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en_US"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/2144/43494"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Contact and collision sports (CCS) expose athletes to countless repetitive head impacts (RHI) across a single season, potentially leading to increased risk of long-term difficulties in cognition and the development of neurodegenerative disease. There is mixed literature on whether RHI from CCS result in changes to white matter and long-term neurobehavioral outcomes, therefore this research project seeks to provide supporting evidence by comparing the total volume of fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) white matter lesions in individuals with a history of RHI from CCS to those without a history of RHI from the Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (BU ADRC). The RHI participants were matched to a group of non-RHI participants based on age (+/- 5 years). Effects of RHI on white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) are evaluated, while considering hippocampal volume across RHI and non-RHI groups. When controlling for age, sex, education, and total hippocampal volume, those with a history of football were found to have a significantly greater WMH volume (p=.02) compared to those without a history of football play. Compared to the non-RHI group, the RHI group including all athletes (n=42) had a greater WMH volume, although it did not reach a level of significance (p=.91). This investigation provided preliminary evidence for a link between high RHI exposure and WMHs in football players, and a non-significant relationship between RHI and increased WMHs in those with a history of CCS compared to individuals in the non-RHI group. Future research should expand upon this investigation, by examining RHI exposure and WMH consequences in a diverse assortment of sports, follow athletes longitudinally for repeated in vivo MRIs and post-mortem neuropathological confirmation, and include more female athletes."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The effect of repetitive head impact exposure on white matter lesion volume"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Alosco, Michael L.","Killiany, Ronald"],"dc:creator":["Nowak, Christina Marie"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2021-12-20T19:47:57Z"],"dc:date.available":["2021-12-20T19:47:57Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2021"],"dc:description.abstract":["Contact and collision sports (CCS) expose athletes to countless repetitive head impacts (RHI) across a single season, potentially leading to increased risk of long-term difficulties in cognition and the development of neurodegenerative disease. There is mixed literature on whether RHI from CCS result in changes to white matter and long-term neurobehavioral outcomes, therefore this research project seeks to provide supporting evidence by comparing the total volume of fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) white matter lesions in individuals with a history of RHI from CCS to those without a history of RHI from the Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (BU ADRC). The RHI participants were matched to a group of non-RHI participants based on age (+/- 5 years). Effects of RHI on white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) are evaluated, while considering hippocampal volume across RHI and non-RHI groups. When controlling for age, sex, education, and total hippocampal volume, those with a history of football were found to have a significantly greater WMH volume (p=.02) compared to those without a history of football play. Compared to the non-RHI group, the RHI group including all athletes (n=42) had a greater WMH volume, although it did not reach a level of significance (p=.91). This investigation provided preliminary evidence for a link between high RHI exposure and WMHs in football players, and a non-significant relationship between RHI and increased WMHs in those with a history of CCS compared to individuals in the non-RHI group. Future research should expand upon this investigation, by examining RHI exposure and WMH consequences in a diverse assortment of sports, follow athletes longitudinally for repeated in vivo MRIs and post-mortem neuropathological confirmation, and include more female athletes."],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/2144/43494"],"dc:language.iso":["en_US"],"dc:subject":["Neurosciences","Chronic traumatic encephalopathy","Cognitive function","Repetitive head impacts","Subconcussive","White matter hyperintensities","White matter lesions"],"dc:title":["The effect of repetitive head impact exposure on white matter lesion volume"],"dc:type":["Thesis/Dissertation"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:25:47Z"}