Here is the U.S., we celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday. That means families gather, eat a huge meal of roast turkey, take time to appreciate life and, often, watch American football.
Here in Boston, we also study football. Take last night’s Giants v. Eagles game. One player drew a penalty for a nasty head to head hit. The cheap shot was even cheaper in light of big sports medicine story of the year: the link between football-related head injuries and dementia.
Much of the research in that area is coming out of BU. So, check out the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, which is, according to the site, a progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in athletes (and others) with a history of repetitive concussions. CTE has been known to affect boxers since the 1920s. However, recent reports have been published of neuropathologically confirmed CTE in retired professional football players and wrestlers who have a history of head trauma. This trauma, which includes multiple concussions, triggers progressive degeneration of the brain tissue, including the build-up of an abnormal protein called tau. These changes in the brain can begin months, years, or even decades after the last concussion or end of active athletic involvement. The brain degeneration is associated with memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, paranoia, impulse control problems, aggression, depression, and, eventually, progressive dementia.
The researchers there use helmet sensors to gather data and are building a bank of brain tissue from former athletes. For more, click here.