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The effects of internal jugular vein compression for modulating and preserving white matter following a season of American tackle football: A prospective longitudinal evaluation of differential head impact exposure
Author(s) -
Diekfuss Jed A.,
Yuan Weihong,
Barber Foss Kim D.,
Dudley Jonathan A.,
DiCesare Christopher A.,
Reddington Danielle L.,
Zhong Wen,
Nissen Katharine S.,
Shafer Jessica L.,
Leach James L.,
Bonnette Scott,
Logan Kelsey,
Epstein Jeffery N.,
Clark Joseph,
Altaye Mekibib,
Myer Gregory D.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of neuroscience research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.72
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1097-4547
pISSN - 0360-4012
DOI - 10.1002/jnr.24727
Subject(s) - collar , white matter , fractional anisotropy , diffusion mri , medicine , magnetic resonance imaging , psychology , radiology , mechanical engineering , engineering
Abstract The purpose of this clinical trial was to examine whether internal jugular vein compression (JVC)—using an externally worn neck collar—modulated the relationships between differential head impact exposure levels and pre‐ to postseason changes in diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)‐derived diffusivity and anisotropy metrics of white matter following a season of American tackle football. Male high‐school athletes ( n = 284) were prospectively assigned to a non‐collar group or a collar group. Magnetic resonance imaging data were collected from participants pre‐ and postseason and head impact exposure was monitored by accelerometers during every practice and game throughout the competitive season. Athletes' accumulated head impact exposure was systematically thresholded based on the frequency of impacts of progressively higher magnitudes (10 g intervals between 20 to 150 g) and modeled with pre‐ to postseason changes in DTI measures of white matter as a function of JVC neck collar wear. The findings revealed that the JVC neck collar modulated the relationships between greater high‐magnitude head impact exposure (110 to 140 g) and longitudinal changes to white matter, with each group showing associations that varied in directionality. Results also revealed that the JVC neck collar group partially preserved longitudinal changes in DTI metrics. Collectively, these data indicate that a JVC neck collar can provide a mechanistic response to the diffusion and anisotropic properties of brain white matter following the highly diverse exposure to repetitive head impacts in American tackle football. Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT# 04068883.