Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 16, 2025
In Vivo Protocol of Controlled Subconcussive Head Impacts for the Validation of Field Study Data
Published on: April 18, 2019
Cavum Septum Pellucidum in Former American Football Players: Findings From the DIAGNOSE CTE Research Project
Hector Arciniega1, Leonard B Jung1, Fatima Tuz-Zahra1
1Department of Rehabilitation Medicine (HA, OJ), New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY; NYU Concussion Center (HA), NYU Langone Health, New York, NY; Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory (HA, LBJ, OJ, NK, HWC, EK, AC, TLTW, TB, OP, MJC, IKK, SB, MES), Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA; cBRAIN (LBJ, TLTW, IKK), Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universit¨at, Munich, Germany; Department of Biostatistics (FT-Z, YT), Boston University School of Public Health Boston, MA; Center for Clinical Spectroscopy (KB, APL), Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital Boston, MA; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (DD), Harvard Medical School Boston, MA; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (DD), Massachusetts General Hospital Boston, MA; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (DD), Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Cambridge, MA; Department of Radiology (OP, APL, MES), Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School Boston, MA; Department of Psychiatry (OP, IKK, MES), Massachusetts General Hospital Boston, MA; Department of Neurology (CHA), Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic Arizona, Scottsdale, AZ; Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, Las Vegas, NV (CB); Department of Neurology (CB), University of Washington, Seattle, WA; Department of Neurology (LJB), New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY; Department of Population Health (LJB), New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY; Department of Ophthalmology (LJB), New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY; Department of Neurology (MLA, RAS), Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research Center and CTE Center, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA; Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences (IKK), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany; Chambers-Grundy Center for Transformative Neuroscience (JLC), Pam Quirk Brain Health and Biomarker Laboratory, Department of Brain Health, School of Integrated Health Sciences, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV; Banner Alzheimer's Institute and Arizona Alzheimer's Consortium (EMR), Phoenix, AZ; Department of Psychiatry (EMR), University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ; Department of Psychiatry (EMR), Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ; Neurogenomics Division (EMR), Translational Genomics Research Institute and Alzheimer's Consortium, Phoenix, AZ; Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology (RAS); Department of Neurosurgery (RAS), Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA; and Department of Software Engineering and Information Technology (SB), École de technologie supérieure, Université du Québec, Montreal, Canada.
Background And Objectives:
Exposure to repetitive head impacts (RHI) is linked to the development of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which can only be diagnosed at post-mortem. The presence of a cavum septum pellucidum (CSP) is a common finding in post-mortem studies of confirmed CTE and in neuroimaging studies of individuals exposed to RHI. This study examines CSP in living former American football players, investigating its association with RHI exposure, traumatic encephalopathy syndrome (TES) diagnosis, and provisional levels of certainty for CTE pathology.
Methods:
Data from the DIAGNOSE CTE Research Project were used to compare the presence and ratio of CSP in former American football players (n = 175), consisting of former college (n = 58) and former professional players (n = 117), and asymptomatic unexposed controls without RHI exposure (n = 55). We further evaluated potential associations between CSP measures and cumulative head impact index (CHII) measures (frequency, linear acceleration, and rotational force), a TES diagnosis (yes/no), and a provisional level of certainty for CTE pathology (suggestive, possible, and probable).
Results:
Former American football players exhibited a higher CSP presence and ratio than unexposed asymptomatic controls. Among player subgroups, professional players showed a greater CSP ratio than former college players and unexposed asymptomatic controls. Among all football players, CHII rotational forces correlated with an increased CSP ratio. No significant associations were found between CSP measures and diagnosis of TES or provisional levels of certainty for CTE pathology.
Discussion:
This study confirms previous findings, highlighting a greater prevalence of CSP and a greater CSP ratio in former American football players compared with unexposed asymptomatic controls. In addition, former professional players showed a greater CSP ratio than college players. Moreover, the relationship between estimates of CHII rotational forces and CSP measures suggests that cumulative frequency and strength of rotational forces experienced in football are associated with CSP. However, CSP does not directly correlate with TES diagnosis or provisional levels of certainty for CTE, indicating that it may be a consequence of RHI associated with rotational forces. Further research, especially longitudinal studies, is needed for confirmation and to explore changes over time.
More Related Videos
12:31A Visual Description of the Dissection of the Cerebral Surface Vasculature and Associated Meninges and the Choroid Plexus from Rat Brain
Published on: November 14, 2012
08:29Symmetric Bihemispheric Postmortem Brain Cutting to Study Healthy and Pathological Brain Conditions in Humans
Published on: December 18, 2016
Related Concept Videos
01:18Anatomy of the Brain: Ventricles
01:22Sutures of the Skull
Sutures are immobile joints between adjacent bones of the skull. The narrow gap between the bones is filled with dense, fibrous connective tissue that unites the bones. The long sutures located between the skull bones are not straight but instead follow irregular, tightly twisting paths. These twisting lines tightly...