Associations Between Brain Metabolites Measured With MR Spectroscopy & Head Impacts in High School American Football Athletes

Motivation: Relationships between brain metabolites and head impacts in adolescent athletes are not well characterized. Goal(s): To investigate longitudinal changes in brain metabolites related to concussion and jugular vein compression collar use in high school American football athletes. Approach: In a clinical trial of 215 athletes, we evaluated relationships between brain metabolite changes across a season and head impacts as a function of concussion and collar wear. Results: Increased total choline was positively correlated with mean g-force >100g in concussed athletes. Significant associations between myo-inositol and mean g-force >110g and >120g were observed in the collar group. Impact: In a clinical trial of high school American football athletes evaluating MRS-quantified brain metabolites and head impacts, choline emerged as a key metric of injury, supporting the continued use of neuroimaging metrics in charactering changes after repeated head impacts.