2023-11-28 16:42:29
New research links headers to a decline in brain microstructure and function.
The results, presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), provide new data on this controversial topic and suggest that using the head repeatedly to hit the ball may have consequences on brain function.
Football, men’s and women’s, is currently the most popular and fastest growing sport in the world and there is huge global concern about brain injuries and the potential for headers in football to cause long-term adverse brain effects. In particular, the main author acknowledges Michael L. Lipton, from Columbia University. «Much of this concern relates to the possibility that changes in young adulthood confer risk for neurodegeneration and dementia later in life.».
The adverse effects on the brain related to heading in football were examined for two years. The study included 148 young amateur soccer players (mean age 27 years, 26% female). Using a questionnaire, it was determined how often they hit the ball with their head.
The questionnaire consists of a series of questions about how often an individual plays, practices and heads the ball, and in what types of situations. Exposure was classified as low, moderate or high.
In addition, through a state-of-the-art magnetic resonance imaging technology, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), the effects of heading were evaluated. The technique characterizes the brain microstructure following the microscopic movement of water molecules through tissue.
Brain MRI RSNA/Michael L. Lipton
Compared to the results at the beginning of the trial, the group that claimed to have headed more than 1,500 times during those two years demonstrated an increase in diffusivity in the frontal regions of the white matter and a decrease in the index of orientation dispersion (a measure of brain organization) in certain brain regions after two years of exposure to the title.
“The analysis found that Heading repeatedly during this two-year period was associated with changes in brain microstructure similar to the findings observed in mild traumatic brain injuries – Lipton points out -. In addition, it was also associated with a reduction in verbal learning performance. According to Lipton, this is “the first study to show a long-term change in brain structure related to non-concussive head impacts in football.”
The researcher adds that this new approach addresses a region of the brain that is susceptible to injury but has been neglected due to the limitations of existing methods.
Thus, “the application of this technique has the potential to reveal the extent of injury from repetitive head shots, but also from concussion and traumatic brain injury to a degree that was not possible before.”
#warn #brain #damage #headers #football