Plasma Neurofilament Light and Its Relationship With Omega-3 Status and Soccer Heading in Women Soccer Players

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The purpose of this study is to (1) assess how a competitive season of purposeful gameplay soccer heading in collegiate women soccer players is related to a blood biomarker for sports-related brain injury, plasma neurofilament light (NF-L), and (2) examine how a player's omega-3 status is related to plasma NF-L concentration changes during and after a competitive season of gameplay soccer heading.

Official Title
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A Blood Biomarker for Sports-Related Brain Injury and Its Relationship With Omega-3 Status and Purposeful Soccer Heading in Free-Living Collegiate Women Soccer Players During and After a Competitive Season

Conditions
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Brain Trauma

Intervention / Treatment
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* Other: Plasma Neurofilament Light (NF-L)
* Other: Omega-3 Index
* Other: HeadCount Questionnaire


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: At least 18 years of age. Active player on the university's current team roster for the upcoming competitive season. Is eligible to participate in games and is not redshirting. Exclusion Criteria: Is recovering from a Physician diagnosed concussion. Is recovering from another injury prohibiting the study participant from participating in all sport-related activities.

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years
Maximum Age: 25 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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Female

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Collegiate Women Soccer Players<br>National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) players. | Other: Plasma Neurofilament Light (NF-L)<br>* Plasma NF-L is a biomarker of axonal brain injury following sports-related head impacts.<br>Other: Omega-3 Index<br>* Omega-3 Index is the omega-3 fatty acid content of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) within the erythrocyte cell membrane. It is expressed as EPA+DHA as a percent of total identified fatty acids.<br>Other: HeadCount Questionnaire<br>* HeadCount is a web-based, structured, self-administered questionnaire to assess longer-term heading exposure during competitive play and is administered bi-weekly.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change in plasma neurofilament light concentrations from baseline, during, and after a competitive season. | Plasma neurofilament light (pg/mL) is a biomarker of axonal brain injury following sports-related head impacts. | Baseline, 1 Months, 2 Months, 3 Months, 6 Months | 
| Change in purposeful soccer heading frequencies from baseline, during, and after a competitive season. | HeadCount is a web-based, structured, self-administered questionnaire to assess longer-term heading frequencies (#) during competitive play and is administered bi-weekly. | Baseline, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 6 weeks, 8 weeks, 10 weeks, 12 weeks, 14 weeks | 
| Change in Omega-3 status from baseline, during, and after a competitive season. | Omega-3 Index (%) is the omega-3 fatty acid content of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) within membrane of red blood cell. It is expressed as EPA+DHA as a percent of total identified fatty acids. | Baseline, 1 Months, 2 Months, 3 Months, 6 Months | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Soccer, Heading, Omega-3, Neurofilament Light, Subconcussive, Women