Purpose
- To evaluate brain alterations and clinical consequences of repetitive head impacts in football
- To develop diagnostic biomarkers
- To evaluate methods for quantifying head impacts
- To characterize head‑impact exposure in youth football
Project description
REPIMPACT is a prospective cohort study that evaluates the effects of repetitive head impacts in youth football. Specifically, a group of male youth football players (14 to 16 yrs) are compared to a group of non-contact sport athletes (e.g. swimmers, cyclists etc.).
The participants are followed for a total of 12 months, completing a testing battery before and after a competitive season (including MRI and neuropsychological tests). This allows for a detailed evaluation of the potential effects of repetitive head impacts (i.e. heading) on brain health and development.
The project is part of a multisite study, collecting data in Norway, Belgium and Germany, and will finish in 2020.
REPIMPACT is the foundation for all of Stian’s projects.
Results
Study 1: Laboratory and on-field validation of in-ear accelerometers for quantifying head impact exposure in soccer
Study 2: Repetitive subconcussive head impacts – Brain alterations and clinical consequences (REPIMPACT)
Study 3: Tau protein and neurofilament light chain in serum as novel biomarkers for mild traumatic brain injury and repetitive subconcussive head impacts in soccer
Study 4: Dysregulated miRNAs in serum: Their potential as novel biomarkers for mild traumatic brain injury and repetitive subconcussive head impacts in soccer