Long-term structural changes after mTBI and their relation to post-concussion symptoms

Abstract

Primary objective: To investigate sustained structural changes in the long-term (>1 year) after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and their relationship to ongoing post-concussion syndrome (PCS).

Research design: Morphological and structural connectivity magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data were acquired from 16 participants with mTBI and nine participants without previous head injury.

Main outcomes and results: Participants with mTBI had less prefrontal grey matter and lower fractional anisotropy (FA) in the anterior corona radiata and internal capsule. Furthermore, PCS severity was associated with less parietal lobe grey matter and lower FA in the corpus callosum.

Conclusions: There is evidence for both white and grey matter damage in participants with mTBI over 1 year after injury. Furthermore, these structural changes are greater in those that report more PCS symptoms, suggesting a neurophysiological basis for these persistent symptoms.

• Magnetic resonance imaging
• diffusion tensor imaging
• cortical thickness
• mild traumatic brain injury
• persistent post-concussion syndrome

Acknowledgments

All procedures were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. The study protocol was given a favourable opinion by the University of Surrey Ethics Committee and informed consent was obtained from all participants.

Declaration of interest

This research was supported by a Wingate Foundation Scholarship, UK.