Examining four blood biomarkers for the detection of acute intracranial abnormalities following mild traumatic brain injury in older adults.

Blood-based biomarkers have been increasingly studied for diagnostic and prognostic purposes in patients with mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI). Biomarker levels in blood have been shown to vary throughout age groups. Our aim was to study four blood biomarkers, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase-L1 (UCH-L1), neurofilament light (NF-L), and total tau (t-tau), in older adult patients with MTBI.

Test-Retest reliability and preliminary reliable change estimates for Sway Balance tests administered remotely in community-dwelling adults.

Objective: Impaired balance and postural stability can occur with advanced age, following traumatic brain injury, in association with neurological disorders and diseases, and as the result of acute or chronic orthopedic problems. The remote assessment of balance and postural stability could be of value in clinical practice and research. We examined the test-retest reliability and reliable change estimates for Sway Balance Mobile Application tests (Sway Medical, Tulsa OK, USA) administered remotely from the participant's home.

Normative Reference Values for Crystallized-Fluid Discrepancy Scores for the NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to translate NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery (NIHTB-CB) Crystallized-Fluid discrepancy scores into research and clinical practice with adults by providing normative data for discrepancy scores for both age-adjusted standard scores (SSs) and demographically adjusted T-scores.

Method: We included adult participants from the NIHTB-CB standardization sample who denied having neurodevelopmental, medical, psychiatric, or neurological conditions (n = 730; M = 47.4 years old, SD = 17.

Acute Effects of Concussion in Adolescent Athletes With High Preseason Anxiety.

Objective: To examine associations between pre-existing anxiety symptoms, and symptoms and cognitive functioning acutely following a suspected concussion.

Design: Nested case-control study.

Setting: High schools in Maine, USA.

Algorithms for Operationalizing Mild Cognitive Impairment Using the Spanish-Language NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery.

Objective: Neuropsychologists would benefit from flexible methods for operationalizing psychometric cognitive impairment in Spanish-speaking examinees that vary in association with intelligence, education, and sociocultural characteristics. The current study combined low and high score base rates (BRs) for the Spanish-language NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery (NIHTB-CB) to identify score combinations that are uncommon within different stratifications of the normative sample and may indicate cognitive impairment.

Method: The Spanish-language NIHTB-CB normative sample included 250 healthy Latinx adults with complete data on two crystallized and five fluid cognitive tests (M = 38.

Psychological Contributions to Symptom Provocation Testing After Concussion.

Objective: Following concussion, symptoms such as headache, dizziness, and fatigue may transiently worsen or reemerge with increased exertion or activity. Standardized tests have been developed to assess symptom increases following aerobic, cognitive, or vestibular/oculomotor challenge. Although neurophysiological mechanisms are proposed to underlie symptom increases following exertion, psychological factors such as anxiety and misinterpretation of normal bodily sensations may also play a role.

Examining for Cavum Septum Pellucidum and Ventricular Enlargement in Retired Elite-Level Rugby League Players.

Objective: A cavum septum pellucidum (CSP) has been reported as a visible brain anomaly in normal individuals as well in some former combat and collision sport athletes. The appearance of CSP with fenestrations and ventricular enlargement are considered associated features of the neuropathological diagnosis of chronic traumatic encephalopathy. The current study examined CSP anatomic features and lateral ventricle size in retired elite rugby league players and controls.

High-School Football and Midlife Brain Health Problems.

Objective: To examine whether middle-aged men who played high-school football experience worse mental health or cognitive functioning than men who did not play high-school football.

Design: Cross-sectional cohort study.

Setting: Online survey completed remotely.

Pre-Injury headache and post-traumatic headache in patients with mild traumatic brain injury: neuropsychological, psychiatric, and post-concussion symptom outcomes.

Primary Objective: Headache, both before and after injury, has been associated with worse outcome following mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI). This study examined whether three MTBI patient groups - no headache (reported no pre-/post-injury headache), pre-injury headache (reported pre-injury headache, nearly all of whom also reported post-injury headache), and post-traumatic headache only (denied pre-injury headache and reported post-injury headache) - differed in acute-to-subacute outcomes.

Research Design: Cross-sectional observational study.

The Frequency of Low Scores on ImPACT in Adolescent Student-Athletes: Stratification by Race and Socioeconomic Status Using Multivariate Base Rates.

This study examined the associations between the frequency of low scores on the Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Test (ImPACT) by race and socioeconomic status (SES), using the proxy of Title I school status, among adolescent student-athletes and calculated multivariate base rates. There were 753 participants assigned to groups based on race (White: = 430, 59.8%; Black: = 289, 40.

Greater Acute Concussion Symptoms Are Associated With Longer Recovery Times in NCAA Division III Collegiate Athletes.

We examined the association between the severity of acute concussion symptoms and time to return to school and to sports in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III collegiate athletes. We hypothesized that students with the lowest burden of acute symptoms, measured in the first 72 h, would have the fastest return to school and sports and those with the highest burden of symptoms would have the slowest return to school and sports. This injury surveillance cohort included 808 athletes from 11 NCAA Division III colleges who sustained a concussion between 2014 and 2019.

Craniotomies following acute traumatic brain injury in Finland-a national study between 1997 and 2018.

Background: A number of patients who sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI) require surgical intervention due to acute intracranial bleeding. The aim of this retrospective study was to assess the national trends of acute craniotomies following TBI in the Finnish adult population.

Methods: The data were collected retrospectively from the Finnish Care Register for Health Care (1997-2018).

Methodology Matters: Comparing Approaches for Defining Persistent Symptoms after Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

Some people experience persistent post-concussion symptoms (PPCS) after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). A meaningful clinical classification and scientific progress are hampered by a lack of consensus regarding the phenomenology, assessment, and operationalization of PPCS. Here we demonstrate and evaluate how the methodology used to assess and define persistent symptoms after mTBI influences PPCS as a binary outcome.

Assessing Cognitive Decline in High-Functioning Spanish-Speaking Patients: High Score Base Rates on the Spanish-Language NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery.

Objective: Prior research has focused on the normal frequency of obtaining low scores on a neuropsychological test battery, but few studies have examined the normal frequency of obtaining high scores. This study involved the preparation of high score multivariate base rates for the Spanish-language National Institutes of Health (NIH) Toolbox Cognition Battery (NIHTB-CB).

Method: Participants included 250 healthy Latinx adults (age range: 19-80) from the Spanish-language NIHTB-CB normative sample who completed the full battery (two crystallized and four fluid cognition tests).

Feasibility of Concussion Rehabilitation Approaches Tailored to Psychological Coping Styles: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of a clinical trial involving participants with concussion randomized to treatments designed to address fear avoidance or endurance coping, which are risk factors for disability. A secondary objective was to evaluate whether each treatment could affect selective change on targeted coping outcomes.

Design: Randomized controlled trial.

Interpreting reliable change on the Spanish-language NIH toolbox cognition battery.

This study applied a reliable change methodology to the test-retest data from the Spanish-language NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery (NIHTB-CB) normative sample. Participants included Spanish-speaking adults ( = 48; 54.2% women, 100% Latinx) evaluated twice within one to two weeks on the Spanish-language NIHTB-CB, consisting of two crystallized and five fluid cognitive tests.

Development of a Machine-Learning-Based Classifier for the Identification of Head and Body Impacts in Elite Level Australian Rules Football Players.

Exposure to thousands of head and body impacts during a career in contact and collision sports may contribute to current or later life issues related to brain health. Wearable technology enables the measurement of impact exposure. The validation of impact detection is required for accurate exposure monitoring.

Associations between residual hyperarousal and insomnia symptoms in veterans following a 2-week intensive outpatient program for posttraumatic stress disorder.

Many returning military service members and veterans who were deployed following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks (9/11) suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and insomnia. Although intensive treatment programs for PTSD have shown promise in the treatment of PTSD symptoms, recent research has demonstrated that sleep disturbance shows little improvement following intensive trauma-focused treatment. The aim of the present study was to evaluate changes in self-reported insomnia symptoms among veterans and service members following participation in a 2-week intensive program for PTSD.

Serotonergic Antidepressants and Risk for Traumatic Intracranial Bleeding.

Serotonergic antidepressants may predispose to bleeding but the effect on traumatic intracranial bleeding is unknown. The rate of intracranial bleeding in patients with antidepressant medication was compared to patients not antidepressants in a cohort of patients with acute head injury. This association was examined by using a consecutive cohort of head trauma patients from a Finnish tertiary center emergency department (Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland).

Test-Retest Reliability and Reliable Change Estimates for Four Mobile Cognitive Tests Administered Virtually in Community-Dwelling Adults.

: Remote mobile cognitive testing (MCT) is an expanding area of research, but psychometric data supporting these measures are limited. We provide preliminary data on test-retest reliability and reliable change estimates in four MCTs from SWAY Medical, Inc. Fifty-five adults from the U.

Unexpected symptoms after concussion: Potential links to functional neurological and somatic symptom disorders.

Objective: Reporting of unexpected symptoms after concussion might, in some people, reflect a Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), Somatic Symptom Disorder (SSD), or exaggeration (feigning). This study aimed to determine whether reporting unexpected symptoms after concussion was associated with risk factors for FND/SSD, exaggeration, or both.

Method: Adults with persistent symptoms following concussion (N = 77; 61% women) rated the presence and severity of unexpected neurological symptoms (from the Screening for Somatoform Symptoms scale, e.

Predictors and Correlates of Perceived Cognitive Decline in Retired Professional Rugby League Players.

Rugby league is an international full-contact sport, with frequent concussive injuries. Participation in other full-contact sports such as American football has been considered to be a risk factor for neuropsychiatric sequelae later-in-life, but little research has addressed the mental and cognitive health of retired professional rugby league players. We examined predictors and correlates of perceived (self-reported) cognitive decline in retired National Rugby League (NRL) players.