TY - JOUR
T1 - Rationale and design of the “NEurodegeneration
T2 - Traumatic brain injury as Origin of the Neuropathology (NEwTON)” study: a prospective cohort study of individuals at risk for chronic traumatic encephalopathy
AU - van Amerongen, S
AU - Caton, Dewi K.
AU - Ossenkoppele, Rik
AU - Barkhof, F
AU - Pouwels, PJW
AU - Teunissen, CE
AU - Rozemuller, AJM
AU - Hoozemans, JJM
AU - Pijnenburg, YAL
AU - Scheltens, P
AU - Vijverberg, EGB
N1 - Funding Information: Research of Alzheimer Center Amsterdam is part of the neurodegeneration research program of Amsterdam Neuroscience. Alzheimer Center Amsterdam is supported by Stichting Alzheimer Nederland and Stichting VUmc fonds. We also thank all (future) participants and their informants, who are involved in the NEwTON study. Funding Information: The NEwTON study received funding from Stichting Dioraphte to make this research possible. Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s).
PY - 2022/12
Y1 - 2022/12
N2 - Background: Repetitive head injury in contact sports is associated with cognitive, neurobehavioral, and motor impairments and linked to a unique neurodegenerative disorder: chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). As the clinical presentation is variable, risk factors are heterogeneous, and diagnostic biomarkers are not yet established, the diagnostic process of CTE remains a challenge. The general objective of the NEwTON study is to establish a prospective cohort of individuals with high risk for CTE, to phenotype the study population, to identify potential fluid and neuroimaging biomarkers, and to measure clinical progression of the disease. The present paper explains the protocol and design of this case-finding study. Methods: NEwTON is a prospective study that aims to recruit participants at risk for CTE, with features of the traumatic encephalopathy syndrome (exposed participants), and healthy unexposed control individuals. Subjects are invited to participate after diagnostic screening at our memory clinic or recruited by advertisement. Exposed participants receive a comprehensive baseline screening, including neurological examination, neuropsychological tests, questionnaires and brain MRI for anatomical imaging, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), resting-state functional MRI (rsfMRI), and quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM). Questionnaires include topics on life-time head injury, subjective cognitive change, and neuropsychiatric symptoms. Optionally, blood and cerebrospinal fluid are obtained for storage in the NEwTON biobank. Patients are informed about our brain donation program in collaboration with the Netherlands Brain Brank. Follow-up takes place annually and includes neuropsychological assessment, questionnaires, and optional blood draw. Testing of control subjects is limited to baseline neuropsychological tests, MRI scan, and also noncompulsory blood draw. Results: To date, 27 exposed participants have finished their baseline assessments. First baseline results are expected in 2023. Conclusions: The NEwTON study will assemble a unique cohort with prospective observational data of male and female individuals with high risk for CTE. This study is expected to be a primary explorative base and designed to share data with international CTE-related cohorts. Sub-studies may be added in the future with this cohort as backbone.
AB - Background: Repetitive head injury in contact sports is associated with cognitive, neurobehavioral, and motor impairments and linked to a unique neurodegenerative disorder: chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). As the clinical presentation is variable, risk factors are heterogeneous, and diagnostic biomarkers are not yet established, the diagnostic process of CTE remains a challenge. The general objective of the NEwTON study is to establish a prospective cohort of individuals with high risk for CTE, to phenotype the study population, to identify potential fluid and neuroimaging biomarkers, and to measure clinical progression of the disease. The present paper explains the protocol and design of this case-finding study. Methods: NEwTON is a prospective study that aims to recruit participants at risk for CTE, with features of the traumatic encephalopathy syndrome (exposed participants), and healthy unexposed control individuals. Subjects are invited to participate after diagnostic screening at our memory clinic or recruited by advertisement. Exposed participants receive a comprehensive baseline screening, including neurological examination, neuropsychological tests, questionnaires and brain MRI for anatomical imaging, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), resting-state functional MRI (rsfMRI), and quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM). Questionnaires include topics on life-time head injury, subjective cognitive change, and neuropsychiatric symptoms. Optionally, blood and cerebrospinal fluid are obtained for storage in the NEwTON biobank. Patients are informed about our brain donation program in collaboration with the Netherlands Brain Brank. Follow-up takes place annually and includes neuropsychological assessment, questionnaires, and optional blood draw. Testing of control subjects is limited to baseline neuropsychological tests, MRI scan, and also noncompulsory blood draw. Results: To date, 27 exposed participants have finished their baseline assessments. First baseline results are expected in 2023. Conclusions: The NEwTON study will assemble a unique cohort with prospective observational data of male and female individuals with high risk for CTE. This study is expected to be a primary explorative base and designed to share data with international CTE-related cohorts. Sub-studies may be added in the future with this cohort as backbone.
KW - Chronic traumatic encephalopathy
KW - Cognition
KW - Cognitive decline
KW - Contact sports
KW - Fluid biomarkers
KW - Magnetic resonance imaging
KW - Neuropathology
KW - Neuropsychiatry
KW - Repetitive head injury
KW - Traumatic brain injury
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85137078407&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-022-01059-8
DO - https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-022-01059-8
M3 - Article
C2 - 36050790
SN - 1758-9193
VL - 14
SP - 119
JO - Alzheimer's Research & Therapy
JF - Alzheimer's Research & Therapy
IS - 1
M1 - 119
ER -