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More than 40% of NFL players suffer 'traumatic brain injury'

on Posted in Australia.

More than 40% of NFL players suffer 'traumatic brain injury'

Daily Mail   

Liz Parry

April 12,2016

And the longer they play the higher their risk of memory and learning problems

  • New study found more than 40% of NFL players showed signs of traumatic brain injury based on sensitive, advanced MRI scans
  • Experts warned rate of injuries in athletes much higher than general public 
  • 45% of players studied had problems with memory and thinking skills
  • While 42% showed signs of problems with attention and concentration  

New fears were today raised over the long-term impact on the health of sports stars who suffer concussion.

It emerged more than 40 per cent of retired NFL players showed signs of traumatic brain injury, based on sensitive, advanced MRI scans.

Experts warned the rate of such injuries among athletes was significantly higher than rates seen in the general population.

Dr Francis Conidi, study author from the Florida Center for Headache and Sports Neurology, and Florida State University, said: 'This is one of the largest studies to date in living, retired NFL players and one of the first to demonstrate significant objective evidence for traumatic brain injury in these former players.

More than 40 per cent of retired, NFL players, with an average age of 36, showed signs of traumatic brain injury, sensitive MRI scans revealed as part of a new study into the long-term impact of concussion

More than 40 per cent of retired, NFL players, with an average age of 36, showed signs of traumatic brain injury, sensitive MRI scans revealed as part of a new study into the long-term impact of concussion

'The rate of traumatic brain injury was significantly higher in the players than that found in the general population.'

The study comes less than 36 hours after the Football Association in the UK announced it will task the game's governing body FIFA with investigating if there is a link between dementia and head injuries in football.

The FA's announcement followed revelations that three members of England's 1966 World Cup winning team have Alzheimer's.

Family members of Martin Peters, Nobby Stiles and Ray Wilson revealed they are all battling the condition.

For the current study, researchers conducting thinking and memory tests in 40 retired NFL players, and also performed brain scans.

The players' average age was 36, ranging from 27 to 56.

The majority of those taking part in the study had been out of the NFL for less than five years.

We found that longer careers placed the athletes at a higher risk of traumatic brain injury
Dr Francis Conidi 

They played an average of seven years in the NFL, with a range of two to 17 years.

The retired athletes reported an average of 8.1 concussions.

Twelve players, or 31 per cent, said they had several sub-concussive hits, or hits considered below the threshold of a diagnosed concussion.

The MRIs measured the amount of damage to the brain's white matter, which connects different brain regions, based on the movement of water molecules in the brain tissue.

Seventeen players, or 43 per cent, had levels of movement 2.5 standard deviations below those of healthy people of the same age. 

Researchers noted this is considered evidence of traumatic brain injury with a less than one per cent error rate.

Twelve of the former athletes, or 30 per cent, showed evidence on traditional MRI scans of injury to the brain due to disruption of the nerve axons - those parts of nerve cells that allow brain cells to transmit messages to each other.

The MRIs measured the amount of damage to the brain's white matter, which connects different brain regions, based on the movement of water molecules in the brain tissue. Seventeen players, or 43 per cent, had levels of movement 2.5 standard deviations below those of healthy people of the same age. Researchers noted this is considered evidence of traumatic brain injury with a less than one per cent error rate

The MRIs measured the amount of damage to the brain's white matter, which connects different brain regions, based on the movement of water molecules in the brain tissue. Seventeen players, or 43 per cent, had levels of movement 2.5 standard deviations below those of healthy people of the same age. Researchers noted this is considered evidence of traumatic brain injury with a less than one per cent error rate

The thinking tests revealed around half of the retired players had significant problems on executive function, 45 per cent on learning or memory, 42 per cent on attention and concentration, and 24 per cent on spatial and perceptual function.

The longer a player played in the NFL, the more likely he was to have the signs of traumatic brain injury, as shown on the advanced MRI, researchers noted.

However, they found no relationship between the number of concussions a player had and whether he had traumatic brain injury based on the advanced MRI.

There was also no relationship between the number of years a player spent in the NFL and whether he had signs of brain damage on the traditional MRI. 

Dr Conidi said: 'We found that longer careers placed the athletes at a higher risk of traumatic brain injury.

'This research in living players sheds light on the possible pathological changes consistent with chronic traumatic encephalopathy that may be taking place.' 

The study will be presented at the American Acadmey of Neurology's 68th Annual Meeting in Vancover next week.