Concussion-Related Biomarker Variations in Retired Rugby Players and Implications for Neurodegenerative Disease Risk: The UK Rugby Health Study

Date
2024-07-17
Authors
Alanazi, N
Fitzgerald, M
Hume, P
Hellewell, S
Horncastle, A
Anyaegbu, C
Papini, MG
Hargreaves, N
Halicki, M
Entwistle, I
Supervisor
Item type
Journal Article
Degree name
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
MDPI AG
Abstract

The health and well-being of retired rugby union and league players, particularly regarding the long-term effects of concussions, are of major concern. Concussion has been identified as a major risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), in athletes engaged in contact sports. This study aimed to assess differences in specific biomarkers between UK-based retired rugby players with a history of concussion and a non-contact sports group, focusing on biomarkers associated with Alzheimer’s, ALS, and CTE. We randomly selected a sample of male retired rugby or non-contact sport athletes (n = 56). The mean age was 41.84 ± 6.44, and the mean years since retirement from the sport was 7.76 ± 6.69 for participants with a history of substantial concussions (>5 concussions in their career) (n = 30). The mean age was 45.75 ± 11.52, and the mean years since retirement was 6.75 ± 4.64 for the healthy controls (n = 26). Serum biomarkers (t-tau, RBP-4, SAA, Nf-L, and retinol), plasma cytokines, and biomarkers associated with serum-derived exosomes (Aβ42, p-tau181, p-tau217, and p-tau231) were analyzed using validated commercial ELISA assays. The results of the selected biomarkers were compared between the two groups. Biomarkers including t-tau and p-tau181 were significantly elevated in the history of the substantial concussion group compared to the non-contact sports group (t-tau: p < 0.01; p-tau181: p < 0.05). Although between-group differences in p-tau217, p-tau231, SAA, Nf-L, retinol, and Aβ42 were not significantly different, there was a trend for higher levels of Aβ42, p-tau217, and p-tau231 in the concussed group. Interestingly, the serum-derived exosome sizes were significantly larger (p < 0.01), and serum RBP-4 levels were significantly reduced (p < 0.05) in the highly concussed group. These findings indicate that retired athletes with a history of multiple concussions during their careers have altered serum measurements of exosome size, t-tau, p-tau181, and RBP-4. These biomarkers should be explored further for the prediction of future neurodegenerative outcomes, including ALS, in those with a history of concussion.

Description
Keywords
biomarkers , brain injury , concussion , neurodegenerative disease , sport , 3101 Biochemistry and Cell Biology , 31 Biological Sciences , 3404 Medicinal and Biomolecular Chemistry , 34 Chemical Sciences , 3107 Microbiology , Traumatic Head and Spine Injury , Dementia , Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) , Brain Disorders , Neurosciences , Physical Injury - Accidents and Adverse Effects , Acquired Cognitive Impairment , Aging , Neurodegenerative , Clinical Research , Prevention , Neurological , 0399 Other Chemical Sciences , 0604 Genetics , 0699 Other Biological Sciences , Chemical Physics , 3101 Biochemistry and cell biology , 3107 Microbiology , 3404 Medicinal and biomolecular chemistry
Source
International Journal of Molecular Sciences, ISSN: 1422-0067 (Print); 1422-0067 (Online), MDPI AG, 25(14), 7811-. doi: 10.3390/ijms25147811
Rights statement
© 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).