Abstract #0858

INDICATION OF IMPAIRED BASAL CEREBRAL BLOOD FLOW AND REACTIVE CAPACITY IN CONCUSSED ATHLETES USING DUAL-ECHO PCASL

Clarisse Ildiko Mark¹, Alex Bhogal², Douglas J Cook³, and Ingrid Johnsrude⁴

¹Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada, ²Radiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands, ³Department of Surgery, Division of Neurosurgery, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada, ⁴Brain and Mind Institute, Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada

Concussion can result in disability related to covert symptoms and deficits that persist long after the initial injury. A possible explanation for these observed phenomena is sustained impairment of cerebrovascular autoregulation. Here, we complement BOLD acquisition with simultaneous cerebral blood flow (CBF) measurements during targeted hypercapnic breathing challenges in varsity athletes during the acute, early and late stages following injury. Changes in basal CBF and cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) were observed over the first 2 weeks following injury compared to matched un-concussed athletes. These biomarkers represent promising tools to gauge the extent of brain injury and monitor recovery.

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