Health & Medicine
Youth Football Changes Kids’ Brains In One Season
Brooke James
First Posted: Oct 25, 2016 05:00 AM EDT
A single season of football is already enough to affect certain aspects of a child's brain and unfortunately, not in a good way.
The study, published in the medical journal Radiology suggests that the cumulative effects of having sub-concussive head impacts (those that are not strong enough to cause concussion) can cause brain damages in young players.
The long-term effects of head trauma are being studied. ABC News noted that more and more professional athletes have been found to exhibit signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy - a degenerative disease that involves the buildup of the protein tao. Tao is commonly found in patients with dementia and is associated with breaking down of brain tissues.
The existence of tao is believed to be caused by repetitive trauma to the brain, especially concussions. Symptoms of CTE include memory loss, confusion, aggression, depression, anxiety, impulse control problems, and even progressive dementia.
In the study, the researchers looked for differences in the brain before and after a football season for young male athletes aged 8 to 13 who did not have concussion diagnosis during the period of the study. With the use of a special helmet with sensors, researchers determined the force that players were exposed to during the season. They underwent neurological examinations both before and after the football season as well.
Using an advanced MRI Screening, researchers saw that the more a player was exposed to force during the season, the more likely they are to have brain abnormalities as defined by the study. However, it is imperative that these athletes will have to be studied further to show if these results continue for another year.
Dr. Max Wiznitzer, a pediatric neurologist from the Neurologic Institute at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital said, "When you play football, there's going to be some trauma to the brain whether it's sub-clinical or clinical. We don't know if [these changes] go away the following year."
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First Posted: Oct 25, 2016 05:00 AM EDT
A single season of football is already enough to affect certain aspects of a child's brain and unfortunately, not in a good way.
The study, published in the medical journal Radiology suggests that the cumulative effects of having sub-concussive head impacts (those that are not strong enough to cause concussion) can cause brain damages in young players.
The long-term effects of head trauma are being studied. ABC News noted that more and more professional athletes have been found to exhibit signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy - a degenerative disease that involves the buildup of the protein tao. Tao is commonly found in patients with dementia and is associated with breaking down of brain tissues.
The existence of tao is believed to be caused by repetitive trauma to the brain, especially concussions. Symptoms of CTE include memory loss, confusion, aggression, depression, anxiety, impulse control problems, and even progressive dementia.
In the study, the researchers looked for differences in the brain before and after a football season for young male athletes aged 8 to 13 who did not have concussion diagnosis during the period of the study. With the use of a special helmet with sensors, researchers determined the force that players were exposed to during the season. They underwent neurological examinations both before and after the football season as well.
Using an advanced MRI Screening, researchers saw that the more a player was exposed to force during the season, the more likely they are to have brain abnormalities as defined by the study. However, it is imperative that these athletes will have to be studied further to show if these results continue for another year.
Dr. Max Wiznitzer, a pediatric neurologist from the Neurologic Institute at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital said, "When you play football, there's going to be some trauma to the brain whether it's sub-clinical or clinical. We don't know if [these changes] go away the following year."
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone