TY - JOUR PY - 2024// TI - Biomarkers of neurobiologic recovery in adults with sport-related concussion JO - JAMA network open A1 - O'Brien, William T. A1 - Spitz, Gershon A1 - Xie, Becca A1 - Major, Brendan P. A1 - Mutimer, Steven A1 - Giesler, Lauren P. A1 - Bain, Jesse A1 - Evans, Lauren J. A1 - Duarte Martins, Beatriz A1 - Piantella, Stefan A1 - Alhassan, Afizu A1 - Brady, Shelby A1 - Cappellari, David A1 - Somma, Vincenzo A1 - McColl, Thomas A1 - Symons, Georgia F. A1 - Gore, Tenae A1 - Sun, Matthew A1 - Kuek, Timothy A1 - Horan, Seamus A1 - Bei, Michael A1 - Ponsford, Jennie L. A1 - Willmott, Catherine A1 - Reyes, Jonathan A1 - Ashton, Nicholas J. A1 - Zetterberg, Henrik A1 - Mitra, Biswadev A1 - O'Brien, Terence J. A1 - Shultz, Sandy R. A1 - McDonald, Stuart J. SP - e2415983 EP - e2415983 VL - 7 IS - 6 N2 - IMPORTANCE: Sport-related concussion (SRC), a form of mild traumatic brain injury, is a prevalent occurrence in collision sports. There are no well-established approaches for tracking neurobiologic recovery after SRC.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the levels of serum glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and neurofilament light (NfL) in Australian football athletes who experience SRC. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A cohort study recruiting from April 10, 2021, to September 17, 2022, was conducted through the Victorian Amateur Football Association, Melbourne, Australia. Participants included adult Australian football players with or without SRC. Data analysis was performed from May 26, 2023, to March 27, 2024. EXPOSURE: Sport-related concussion, defined as at least 1 observable sign and/or 2 or more symptoms. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Primary outcomes were serum GFAP and NfL levels at 24 hours, and 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, and 26 weeks. Secondary outcomes were symptoms, cognitive performance, and return to training times.

RESULTS: Eighty-one individuals with SRC (median age, 22.8 [IQR, 21.3-26.0] years; 89% male) and 56 control individuals (median age, 24.6 [IQR, 22.4-27.3] years; 96% male) completed a total of 945 of 1057 eligible testing sessions. Compared with control participants, those with SRC exhibited higher GFAP levels at 24 hours (mean difference [MD] in natural log, pg/mL, 0.66 [95% CI, 0.50-0.82]) and 4 weeks (MD, 0.17 [95% CI, 0.02-0.32]), and NfL from 1 to 12 weeks (1-week MD, 0.31 [95% CI, 0.12-0.51]; 2-week MD, 0.38 [95% CI, 0.19-0.58]; 4-week MD, 0.31 [95% CI, 0.12-0.51]; 6-week MD, 0.27 [95% CI, 0.07-0.47]; 8-week MD, 0.36 [95% CI, 0.15-0.56]; and 12-week MD, 0.25 [95% CI, 0.04-0.46]). Growth mixture modeling identified 2 GFAP subgroups: extreme prolonged (16%) and moderate transient (84%). For NfL, 3 subgroups were identified: extreme prolonged (7%), moderate prolonged (15%), and minimal or no change (78%). Individuals with SRC who reported loss of consciousness (LOC) (33% of SRC cases) had higher GFAP at 24 hours (MD, 1.01 [95% CI, 0.77-1.24]), 1 week (MD, 0.27 [95% CI, 0.06-0.49]), 2 weeks (MD, 0.21 [95% CI, 0.004-0.42]) and 4 weeks (MD, 0.34 [95% CI, 0.13-0.55]), and higher NfL from 1 week to 12 weeks (1-week MD, 0.73 [95% CI, 0.42-1.03]; 2-week MD, 0.91 [95% CI, 0.61-1.21]; 4-week MD, 0.90 [95% CI, 0.59-1.20]; 6-week MD, 0.81 [95% CI, 0.50-1.13]; 8-week MD, 0.73 [95% CI, 0.42-1.04]; and 12-week MD, 0.54 [95% CI, 0.22-0.85]) compared with SRC participants without LOC. Return to training times were longer in the GFAP extreme compared with moderate subgroup (incident rate ratio [IRR], 1.99 [95% CI, 1.69-2.34]; NfL extreme (IRR, 3.24 [95% CI, 2.63-3.97]) and moderate (IRR, 1.43 [95% CI, 1.18-1.72]) subgroups compared with the minimal subgroup, and for individuals with LOC compared with those without LOC (IRR, 1.65 [95% CI, 1.41-1.93]).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this cohort study, a subset of SRC cases, particularly those with LOC, showed heightened and prolonged increases in GFAP and NfL levels, that persisted for at least 4 weeks. These findings suggest that serial biomarker measurement could identify such cases, guiding return to play decisions based on neurobiologic recovery. While further investigation is warranted, the association between prolonged biomarker elevations and LOC may support the use of more conservative return to play timelines for athletes with this clinical feature.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 2574-3805 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.15983 ID - ref1 ER -