Regional ventricular enlargement as an in vivo biomarker of cumulative biomechanical neurodegeneration in former American football players.

INTRODUCTION

Repetitive head impacts (RHIs) have been linked to later life neurodegeneration, yet the in vivo structural correlates of cumulative biomechanical loading remain unclear. We examined whether regional ventricular morphology in former American football players reflects exposure burden and traumatic encephalopathy syndrome (TES) classification.

METHODS

Participants included 170 male former football players and 54 age-matched asymptomatic male controls from the Diagnostics, Imaging, and Genetics Network for the Objective Study and Evaluation of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Research Project. Subject-specific manual segmentation quantified lateral ventricle, inferior horn, third ventricle, and fourth ventricle volumes. Group and exposure associations were tested using generalized least squares models.

RESULTS

Former players showed larger left inferior lateral ventricle volume than controls, with the largest effects among professional players. Greater cumulative linear and rotational acceleration exposure was associated with enlargement across lateral ventricular and inferior horn regions.

DISCUSSION: Regional ventricular enlargement may represent an in vivo marker of cumulative biomechanical loading after RHI exposure.