Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, Krembil Discovery Tower, University of Toronto, 60 Leonard Avenue, 6th floor 6KD-407, Toronto, ON, M5T 2S8, Canada.
Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
J Neurol. 2022 Oct;269(10):5582-5595. doi: 10.1007/s00415-022-11223-7. Epub 2022 Jun 25.
Considering the wide range of outcomes following sport-related concussions, biomarkers are needed to detect underlying pathological changes. The objective was to analyze the use of plasma phosphorylated tau 181 (pTau181) as a non-invasive measure of underlying brain changes in a cohort of retired contact sports athletes at risk of neurodegeneration.
Fifty-four retired contact sport athletes and 27 healthy controls whose blood plasma was analyzed for pTau181 were included. A portion (N = 21) of retired athletes had a 2-years follow-up visit. All participants had completed a neuropsychological battery and MRI imaging.
Plasma pTau181 was significantly higher in retired athletes compared to healthy controls (8.94 ± 5.08 pg/mL vs. 6.00 ± 2.53 pg/mL, respectively; 95% BCa CI 1.38-4.62; p = 0.02); and was significantly associated with fornix fractional anisotropy values only in the athletes group (β = - 0.002; 95% BCa CI - 0.003 to - 0.001; p = 0.002). When the retired athletes cohort was divided into high vs. normal pTau181 groups, the corpus callosum (CC) volume and white-matter integrity was significantly lower in high pTau181 compared to older healthy controls (CC volume: 1.57 ± 0.19 vs. 2.02 ± 0.32, p = 0.002; CC medial diffusivity: 0.96 ± 0.04 × 10 mm/s vs. 0.90 ± 0.03 × 10 mm/s, p = 0.003; CC axial diffusivity: 1.49 ± 0.04 × 10 mm/s vs. 1.41 ± 0.02 × 10 mm/s, p < 0.001, respectively).
Although high plasma pTau181 levels were associated with abnormalities in CC and fornix, baseline pTau181 did not predict longitudinal changes in regional brain volumes or white-matter integrity in the athletes. pTau181 may be useful for identifying those with brain abnormalities related to repeated concussion but not for predicting progression.
考虑到运动相关性脑震荡后结果的范围广泛，需要生物标志物来检测潜在的病理变化。目的是分析血浆磷酸化 tau181（pTau181）作为一种非侵入性测量指标，用于检测有神经退行性病变风险的退役接触性运动运动员队列中的潜在脑变化。
纳入了 54 名退役接触性运动运动员和 27 名健康对照组，对他们的血浆 pTau181 进行了分析。退役运动员中有一部分（N=21）进行了 2 年的随访。所有参与者均完成了神经心理学测试和 MRI 成像。
与健康对照组相比，退役运动员的血浆 pTau181 明显升高（分别为 8.94±5.08pg/mL 和 6.00±2.53pg/mL；95% BCa CI 1.38-4.62；p=0.02）；并且仅在运动员组中与穹窿的分数各向异性值显著相关（β=-0.002；95% BCa CI -0.003 至 -0.001；p=0.002）。当将退役运动员队列分为高 pTau181 组与正常 pTau181 组时，与年龄较大的健康对照组相比，高 pTau181 组的胼胝体（CC）体积和白质完整性明显降低（CC 体积：1.57±0.19 vs. 2.02±0.32，p=0.002；CC 内侧弥散度：0.96±0.04×10mm/s vs. 0.90±0.03×10mm/s，p=0.003；CC 轴突弥散度：1.49±0.04×10mm/s vs. 1.41±0.02×10mm/s，p<0.001）。
尽管高血浆 pTau181 水平与 CC 和穹窿的异常有关，但基线 pTau181 不能预测运动员的区域性脑容量或白质完整性的纵向变化。pTau181 可能有助于识别与反复脑震荡相关的脑异常，但不能预测进展。
