Scans show retired American football players have brain deficits

[Portland Frog]

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/scans-show-retired-american-football-players-brain-deficits-130949401--nfl.html
 
By Kate Kelland
 
LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have found "profound abnormalities" in scans of brain activity in a group of retired American football players, adding to evidence indicating that repeated blows to the head can trigger longer-term aggression and dementia.
 
Although the former National Football League (NFL) players in the study were not diagnosed with any neurological conditions, brain-imaging tests showed unusual activity that correlated with the number of times they had left the field with a head injury during their football careers.
 
Adam Hampshire at Imperial College London, who led the study, said the ex-NFL players showed "some of the most pronounced abnormalities in brain activity" he had ever seen.
"And I have processed a lot of patient data sets in the past," he said in a statement about the research.
 
A growing body of scientific research shows that repeated knocks to the head can lead to a condition known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which can lead to loss of decision making control, aggression and dementia.
 
Previous research has also found that former American football players have higher rates of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
These latest findings, published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports, suggest players also face a risk of subtle neurological deficits that would not necessarily show up on normal clinical tests.
 
 
 

 

[tcudoc]

Does this account for the fact that many football players have a lower baseline starting point?
I kid, I kid. :tongue:

 

[Portland Frog]

It does make you wonder, if you have ever played football at any level, "will my time come" to show symptoms of brain trauma? And how severe will the symptoms be?

 

[FrogGrillz]

This is real stuff, and it comes on the heels of a lot of other preceding neuropathology work by Dr. Bennet Omalu, and other neuroimaging methods such as PET used by UCLA researchers last year. Football is not good for the brain. Its just a medical reality. Even if some guys might not have/show problems, that is just a null finding, and it returns to the fact that there is no observable benefit to the brain from the sport and plenty of high risk brain damage that has been proven scientifically; it remains a medical reality.

 

[Big Frog II]

Next they should scan politicians' brains.

 

[Portland Frog]

Hampshire said the critical finding was that levels of brain abnormality seen in the ex-players correlated strongly with the number of head impacts they had suffered that were severe enough to warrant them being taken out of play.
 
"This means that it is highly likely that damage caused by blows to the head accumulate towards an executive impairment in later life," he said.

 

[matmoo123]

It still seems like there should be an epidemic of former NFL and college players with serious brain impairment, if that is the case, and just not sure we are seeing it at that level.  Is it dangerous, yes, but still not sure we are seeing levels that are statistically significant above the general population.

 

[Westsider]

It does make you wonder, if you have ever played football at any level, "will my time come" to show symptoms of brain trauma? And how severe will the symptoms be?

I olny play tru hihg scool so I sshud be ok

 

[PurplFrawg]

Why isn't there even more outrage against MMA, UFC, and professional boxing?

 

[Portland Frog]

I olny play tru hihg scool so I sshud be ok

 
Haha. Yep, you are doing just fine.

 

[Portland Frog]

Why isn't there even more outrage against MMA, UFC, and professional boxing?

 
Good question. Maybe because it is considered a "given" that those sports cause similar problems because of their nature (meaning aiming at the head to knock out an opponent or score points).

 

[Ron Swanson]

Why isn't there even more outrage against MMA, UFC, and professional boxing?

 
My guess is that since those are fighting sports, people assume that it's full of health risk anyway.
 
I know football is a collision sport, but people still let their kids play and assume they'll be safe (for the most part) in pads.  No one's parents are running them out to MMA practice and thinking nothing of it.

 

[Ron Swanson]

 
Good question. Maybe because it is considered a "given" that those sports cause similar problems because of their nature (meaning aiming at the head to knock out an opponent or score points).

 
Yeah, basically what I was getting at

 

[helcap]

Have similar scans been done with OC's ?

 

[frogs9497]

Would have to say the studies would be enough to persuade me not to play. 
 
One can't help but wonder about the long-term implications for the sport.  Next thing you'll see is colleges and pro teams asking players to sign waivers.

 

[Pappy Frog]

Helmet improvements still
to be made? :wacko:

 

[Portland Frog]

One can't help but wonder about the long-term implications for the sport.  Next thing you'll see is colleges and pro teams asking players to sign waivers.

 
Signing waivers may happen at the lower levels too (high school down to pee wee).

 

[worthag03]

Lose the face mask or helmets all together.  It will ensure people tackle each other with their heads up and will eliminate spearing.  At least intentional spearing.

 

[Portland Frog]

Lose the face mask or helmets all together.  It will ensure people tackle each other with their heads up and will eliminate spearing.  At least intentional spearing.

 
yep. Have to go back to move forward. Leather helmets and the level of padding from the 1930s. Re-introduce arm tackling to the sport. Take the head out of it. Would it take a huge adjustment from everyone? Of course. But would a drastic move like that be worth it to ultimately save the sport if it is doomed otherwise? No doubt. 

 

[Ron Swanson]

 
yep. Have to go back to move forward. Leather helmets and the level of padding from the 1930s. Re-introduce arm tackling to the sport. Take the head out of it. Would it take a huge adjustment from everyone? Of course. But would a drastic move like that be worth it to ultimately save the sport if it is doomed otherwise? No doubt. 

 
Will it ever happen in a million years?  No way