Publications by authors named "Megan L Mariani"
Background: Patterns of cognitive impairment in former American football players are uncertain because objective neuropsychological data are lacking. This study characterized the neuropsychological test performance of former college and professional football players.
Methods: One hundred seventy male former football players (n=111 professional, n=59 college; 45-74 years) completed a neuropsychological test battery.
Introduction: The presentation, risk factors, and etiologies of white matter hyperintensities (WMH) in people exposed to repetitive head impacts are unknown. We examined the burden and distribution of WMH, and their association with years of play, age of first exposure, and clinical function in former American football players.
Methods: A total of 149 former football players and 53 asymptomatic unexposed participants (all men, 45-74 years) completed fluid-attenuated inversion recovery magnetic resonance imaging, neuropsychological testing, and self-report neuropsychiatric measures.
Article Synopsis
- Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a serious brain disease caused by repeated head impacts and can only be diagnosed after death; the DIAGNOSE CTE Research Project aims to develop diagnostic methods for this condition.
- Funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the project includes 240 male participants, focusing on former football players and asymptomatic individuals, to study various risk factors and biomarkers related to CTE.
- The research involves extensive evaluations such as neurological exams, brain imaging, and biological sample collection, with a focus on refining clinical criteria and sharing data with the broader research community.
Objective: To develop evidence-informed, expert consensus research diagnostic criteria for traumatic encephalopathy syndrome (TES), the clinical disorder associated with neuropathologically diagnosed chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
Methods: A panel of 20 expert clinician-scientists in neurology, neuropsychology, psychiatry, neurosurgery, and physical medicine and rehabilitation, from 11 academic institutions, participated in a modified Delphi procedure to achieve consensus, initiated at the First National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Consensus Workshop to Define the Diagnostic Criteria for TES April, 2019. Before consensus, panelists reviewed evidence from all published cases of CTE with neuropathologic confirmation, and they examined the predictive validity data on clinical features in relation to CTE pathology from a large clinicopathologic study (n = 298).