Micro-structural brain white matter alterations in retired soccer players in Brazil

Abstract

Despite the well-established benefits in the scientific literature of practicing sports, some practices present risks to head trauma. Traditional examples - with scientific evidence backing them up - are boxing and American football. However, soccer players are also subjected to several episodes of head trauma during their careers. These traumas can happen with collisions with the metal bars in the goal, the ball, and other players during physical contact. The hypothesis is that these events lead to cerebral lesions related to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Radiologically, this can be associated with alterations in the brain's white matter, leading to possible functional deficits; as observed in previously described clinical cases involving retired soccer players. To evaluate these white matter alterations, the inhomogeneous magnetization transfer (ihMT) method for magnetic resonance was chosen; due to its higher sensitivity and specificity to myelin - white matter's main component - than other available methods. In this retrospective case-control study, 39 Brazilian males were selected, 20 of them retired soccer players and the best part of the control group. Between 2017 and 2019, these participants were subjected to a PET MRI exam with a 7T MRI and direction anamnesis for collecting relevant medical data for each participant. The images obtained in the MRI are going to be processed using both neuroimaging software FSL and FreeSurfer, followed by a statistical analysis of obtained data. The expected result is a statistically significant decrease in the myelin content observed in the case group compared to the control group.(AU)