Lewy Body Pathology and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Associated With Contact Sports
Adams JW, Alvarez VE, Mez J, Huber BR, Tripodis Y, Xia W, Meng G, Kubilus CA et al.. Journal of neuropathology and experimental neurology, 2018-09-01
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Traumatic brain injury has been associated with increased risk of Parkinson disease and parkinsonism, and parkinsonism and Lewy body disease (LBD) can occur with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). To test whether contact sports and CTE are associated with LBD, we compared deceased contact sports athletes (n = 269) to cohorts from the community (n = 164) and the Boston University Alzheimer disease (AD) Center (n = 261). Participants with CTE and LBD were more likely to have β-amyloid deposition, dementia, and parkinsonism than CTE alone (p 8 years of play best predicted neocortical LBD (ROC analysis, OR = 6.24, 95% CI = 1.5-25, p = 0.011), adjusting for age, sex, and APOE ɛ4 allele status. Clinically, dementia was significantly associated with neocortical LBD, CTE stage, and AD; parkinsonism was associated with LBD pathology but not CTE stage. Contact sports participation may increase risk of developing neocortical LBD, and increased LBD frequency may partially explain extrapyramidal motor symptoms sometimes observed in CTE.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Adams, J. W., Alvarez, V. E., Mez, J., Huber, B. R., Tripodis, Y., Xia, W., et al. (2018). Lewy Body Pathology and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Associated With Contact Sports. Journal of neuropathology and experimental neurology. https://doi.org/10.1093/jnen/nly065
Vancouver
Adams JW, Alvarez VE, Mez J, Huber BR, Tripodis Y, Xia W, et al. Lewy Body Pathology and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Associated With Contact Sports. Journal of neuropathology and experimental neurology. 2018. doi:10.1093/jnen/nly065. PMID: 30053297.
BibTeX
@article{adams2018-30053297,
author = {Adams, J. W. and Alvarez, V. E. and Mez, J. and Huber, B. R. and Tripodis, Y. and Xia, W. and Meng, G. and Kubilus, C. A. and others},
title = {{Lewy Body Pathology and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Associated With Contact Sports}},
journal = {Journal of neuropathology and experimental neurology},
year = {2018},
doi = {10.1093/jnen/nly065},
pmid = {30053297},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/jnen/nly065}
}
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Key findings
- Traumatic brain injury has been associated with increased risk of Parkinson disease and parkinsonism, and parkinsonism and Lewy body disease (LBD) can occur with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
- To test whether contact sports and CTE are associated with LBD, we compared deceased contact sports athletes (n = 269) to cohorts from the community (n = 164) and the Boston University Alzheimer disease (AD) Center (n = 261).
- Clinically, dementia was significantly associated with neocortical LBD, CTE stage, and AD; parkinsonism was associated with LBD pathology but not CTE stage.
Why it matters
Among deceased contact sports athletes, those with both chronic traumatic encephalopathy and Lewy body disease were more likely to have amyloid deposition, dementia and parkinsonism. This is an autopsy comparison and does not test treatment or prevention.
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Study details
- Participants269
- Effect sizeOR = 6.24
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 53/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of neuropathology and experimental neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Journal of Neuropathology & Experimental Neurology: journal h-index 239 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 2 / 5 | 2018 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 269 participants |
| Effect reported | 3 / 3 | Effect reported with a statistic (interval, p-value, ratio or similar) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 110 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 11.0 citations a year over 10 year(s) since 2018 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 7.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 4 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 32 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Thor D. Stein: h-index 64 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Boston University: institution h-index 1,456 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 7 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 30053297) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 53 / 100 | — |
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