Cornali Claudio, Amaddeo Paolo, Benussi Alberto, Perrone Federica, Manes Marta, Zanardini Roberta, Benussi Luisa, Belotti Francesco, Bellini Gianandrea, Bruzzone Andrea, Bruzzone Marco, Morelli Daniela, Archetti Silvana, Latronico Nicola, Padovani Alessandro, Fontanella Marco Maria, Ghidoni Roberta, Borroni Barbara
Neurosurgery, Department of Surgical Specialties, Radiological Sciences and Public Health, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy.
Unit of Neurosurgery, ASST Spedali Civili, Brescia, Italy.
Neurol Sci. 2022 Aug;43(8):5087-5090. doi: 10.1007/s10072-022-06109-5. Epub 2022 May 18.
Sports-related concussion (SRC) is a subset of mild traumatic brain injuries occurring in contact sports. Most people recover spontaneously, but in retired professional players, the risk for neurodegenerative diseases is increased. A biomarker, such as neurofilament light chains (NfL), would help to address this issue and demonstrate sports' safety. Assessing NfL in professional soccer players may be the best way to investigate if repetitive head-impact exposure in the typical lower and asymptomatic range is harmful.
To evaluate whether the NfL in serum is a sensitive biomarker to detect mild brain injury in professional soccer players.
Thirty-six soccer players belonging to a professional Italian team underwent serum NfL assessment using ultrasensitive single-molecule array technology. Sixteen healthy nonathletic controls were also enrolled. Differences between groups and changes over time, considering pre-season vs. season, were considered.
Serum NfL concentrations were comparable in the soccer professional players (median [interquartile range], 6.44 pg/mL [4.60-8.27] and controls (6.50 pg/mL [5.26-7.04]), with a median difference of - 0.06 pg/mL (95% CI -1.36 to 1.18), p = 0.957. No significant differences according to players' role (goalkeeper, defender, midfielder or forward) or according to timing of sampling (pre-season vs. season) were found.
These results suggest that professional soccer, even when played at the highest level of competition, may be considered safe. Future studies assessing serum NfL levels after soccer-related concussions should be carried out, to evaluate their usefulness as a return-to-play marker avoiding second impact syndrome.
与运动相关的脑震荡（SRC）是发生在接触性运动中的轻度创伤性脑损伤的一个子集。大多数人会自发恢复，但在退役职业运动员中，神经退行性疾病的风险会增加。一种生物标志物，如神经丝轻链（NfL），将有助于解决这个问题并证明运动的安全性。评估职业足球运动员的NfL可能是研究在典型的较低且无症状范围内的重复性头部撞击暴露是否有害的最佳方法。
评估血清中的NfL是否是检测职业足球运动员轻度脑损伤的敏感生物标志物。
36名隶属于一支意大利职业球队的足球运动员使用超灵敏单分子阵列技术进行了血清NfL评估。还招募了16名健康的非运动员对照。考虑了季前赛与赛季之间的组间差异和随时间的变化。
职业足球运动员（中位数[四分位间距]，6.44 pg/mL[4.60 - 8.27]）和对照组（6.50 pg/mL[5.26 - 7.04]）的血清NfL浓度相当，中位数差异为-0.06 pg/mL（95%CI -1.36至1.18），p = 0.957。未发现根据球员角色（守门员、后卫、中场或前锋）或采样时间（季前赛与赛季）的显著差异。
这些结果表明，即使是在最高水平的比赛中进行的职业足球运动，也可能被认为是安全的。未来应开展评估足球相关脑震荡后血清NfL水平的研究，以评估其作为避免二次撞击综合征的复出比赛标志物的有用性。
