Researchers have begun scanning the first young athletes taking part in a new study using advanced brain imaging to explore the effects of head injuries in 11 to 18-year-olds.
The study aims to understand why some children recover worse than others after a head injury, even when routine scans such as computerised tomography (CT) appear normal.
The Podium Institute for Sports Medicine and Technology, based within Oxford University’s Institute of Biomedical Engineering, is using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to examine types of brain damage that conventional imaging may miss. These include nerve fibre injury, disruptions in brain metabolism, and changes in how brain regions interact.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) – caused by a blow or jolt to the head – is a leading cause of death and long-term disability in young people. Around 30 to 50 per cent of reported head injuries occur in this age group and are linked to increased risk of conditions such as neurodegenerative disease.
Emergency departments often use CT scans to rule out life-threatening injuries. However, many children with normal CT results continue to show symptoms, suggesting that important aspects of brain damage may be undetected.
The study will combine MRI findings with cognitive tests, as well as self-reported and parent-reported histories of head injuries. Researchers hope to identify MRI biomarkers – measurable signs of injury – that can help predict clinical recovery and decisions around returning to sport.
Tim Lawrence, consultant paediatric neurosurgeon at Oxford University’s Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences and one of the study’s lead researchers, said: “With growing concern regarding a potential link between mild or repetitive traumatic brain injury and long-term cognitive difficulties or even early dementia, there is a pressing need to identify the types of traumatic injuries that may pose a risk. Our study is a step towards better understanding of the mechanisms that underpin damage to the brains of children and adolescents suffering injury.”
Professor Constantin Coussios, director of the Podium Institute and the Institute of Biomedical Engineering, said: “Given the focus of the Podium Institute on the youth, community and female sports, we are proud that our first clinical study addresses a key unmet need in the diagnosis and evaluation of head injuries in children and young persons. We hope to uncover clinically relevant imaging markers that will turn a difficult-to-see condition into one that can be diagnosed more confidently, and to help clinicians, parents and coaches predict how well a child will recover after a head injury.”
Over the next two and a half years, the study plans to scan 60 patients and 60 control participants aged 11 to 18 who regularly take part in sports. This will include young people with both recent and past injuries.
Those interested in participating can contact doctoral researcher Izabelle Lövgren at The Podium Institute.
