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AJNR - American Journal of Neuroradiology

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Increased Diffusion in the Brain of Professional Boxers: A Preclinical Sign of Traumatic Brain Injury?

Lijuan Zhang^a, Lisa D. Ravdin^b, Norman Relkin^b, Robert D. Zimmerman^a, Barry Jordan^c,d, William E. Lathan^d and Aziz M. Ulu^a

^a Department of Radiology, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY
^b Department of Neurology and Neuroscience, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY
^c Burke Rehabilitation Hospital, New York, NY
^d New York State Athletic Commission, New York, NY

View larger version (18K): [in a new window]   FIG 1. Normalized brain diffusion distribution histograms in a control subject and a boxer (case 15). The areas under the two curves are the same. The Dav data (dots and circles) are fitted with a triple Gaussian function to represent the two-compartment nature and the mixing between the two compartments (lines). The narrow peak represents the distribution of the brain tissue about its mean. The second and the third compartments have a broader distribution. The mean of the brain tissue pixel distribution is recognized as a mean diffusion constant for the entire brain (BDav). The distribution width () of the brain tissue compartment is also recorded. The fitted curve of the boxer (circles) shifts to the right as compared with the curve of the control subject (dots). The second compartment level of the boxer’s curve is higher than that of the control subject.

View larger version (18K): [in a new window]   FIG 2. BDav versus for boxers and control subjects: Overall, the boxer group shows elevated BDav and .

View larger version (137K): [in a new window]   FIG 3. Representative images of MR findings in boxers: A, Cavum septum pellucidum (case 14); B, nonspecific periventricular white matter disease (case 22); and C, mild subcortical white matter demyelination (case 21).