Early Tackle Football Exposure Linked to Later-Life Clinical Impairment

 I played a tiny bit prior to high school, as a freshman practiced a couple weeks and decided it was not for me.

Early Tackle Football Exposure Linked to Later-Life Clinical Impairment

 Younger age at first exposure to tackle football was not associated with CTE presence or severity but was linked to worse informant-reported cognitive, neurobehavioral, and neuropsychiatric outcomes among deceased players aged 60 years and older. Earlier tackle football exposure was linked to worse later-life clinical outcomes but not chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) pathology, according to results published in the Journal of Neurotrauma Risk for CTE is increased with repetitive head impacts sustained during contact sports. However, prior studies have indicated that several neurodegenerative and cerebrovascular pathologies can result from repetitive head impacts. Some of this heterogeneity may be due to the age at first exposure to contact sports. Researchers from Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School analyzed data from 677 deceased male former American football players from the Understanding Neurologic Injury and Traumatic Encephalopathy (UNITE) Brain Bank. The donors were evaluated for CTE pathology, cognitive function, and behavior on the basis of age at first exposure to tackle football. Prospective, population-based studies of former American football players are necessary to better understand the relationship between younger [age at first exposure] to tackle football and clinical impairments. Participants were stratified by age at death: 277 died before age 60, and 400 died at age 60 and older. Those who died before age 60 years had a mean (SD) age at death of 39.9 (12.4) years compared with 74.6 (8.2) years among those who died at or after age 60 (P<.001). The younger group had a younger mean (SD) age at first exposure (10.1 [3.00] vs 11.9 [2.7] years;P<.001), fewer mean (SD) years of play (11.1 [5.7] vs 13.0 [5.7] years; P<.001), and were less likely to have played football professionally (26.1% vs 45.8%; P<.001). The proportion of White participants was 74.6% in the younger group and 87.3% in the older group (P=.002). Overall, 471 donors (69.6%) had CTE. Evidence of CTE was observed among 57.0% of the younger and 78.3% of the older participants (P<.001). The severity of CTE increased with age (P < .001). Among those younger than 60 years, CTE stages were I (36.7%), II (31.0%), III (29.7%), and IV (2.5%) compared with 4.5%, 8.3%, 43.6%, and 43.6%, respectively, among those 60 years and older. The younger cohort also had lower rates of Alzheimer disease (1.8% vs 30.3%; P<.001) and Lewy body disease (P<.001) with brainstem (1.1% vs 10.8%) or limbic or neocortical (1.8% vs 12.3%) predominance compared with the older cohort, respectively. In the younger cohort, age at first exposure did not predict any cognitive, neurobehavioral, or neuropsychiatric outcomes (all P ³.292). In the older cohort, however, age at first exposure was associated with the composite cognitive (standardized b, -0.133;P=.009), neurobehavioral (standardized b, -0.119; P=.035), and neuropsychiatric (standardized b, -0.113; P=.048) scores. Each year older at first exposure was associated with lower odds of impairment on the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function for Adults (BRIEF-A) Metacognition Index (OR, 0.774; P =.028), Cognitive Difficulties Scale (OR, 0.775; P =.003), and Behavioral Regulation Index (OR, 0.831; P =.044).

No association was observed between age at first exposure and CTE presence or stage.

Study limitations include the retrospective reporting of clinical outcomes.

The study authors concluded, “Prospective, population-based studies of former American football players are necessary to better understand the relationship between younger [age at first exposure] to tackle football and clinical impairments.”

Disclosures: Some study authors declared affiliations with biotech, pharmaceutical, and/or device companies. Please see the original reference for a full list of authors’ disclosures.

References:

Nosek SB, Gil SG, Abdolmohammadi B, et al. Younger age of first exposure to American football is associated with worse informant-reported clinical outcomes in older age brain donors. J Neurotrauma. Published online February 13, 2026. doi:10.1177/08977151261424707

Heading a football causes instant changes to the brain

You probably don't want to be heading a football right after your stroke even though the physical coordination required to do that would be great for your recovery.
http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=169233&CultureCode=en
Researchers from the University of Stirling have explored the true impact of heading a football, identifying small but significant changes in brain function immediately after routine heading practice.
The study from Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence published in EBioMedicine is the first to detect direct changes in the brain after players are exposed to everyday head impacts, as opposed to clinical brain injuries like concussion.
A group of football players headed a ball 20 times, fired from a machine designed to simulate the pace and power of a corner kick. Before and after the heading sessions, scientists tested players’ brain function and memory.
Increased inhibition in the brain was detected after just a single session of heading. Memory test performance was also reduced by between 41 and 67 per cent, with effects normalising within 24 hours.
Whether the changes to the brain remain temporary after repeated exposure to a football and the long-term consequences of heading on brain health, are yet to be investigated.
Played by more than 250 million people worldwide, the ‘beautiful game’ often involves intentional and repeated bursts of heading a ball. In recent years the possible link between brain injury in sport and increased risk of dementia has focussed attention on whether football heading might lead to long term consequences for brain health.
Cognitive neuroscientist Dr Magdalena Ietswaart from Psychology at the University of Stirling, said: “In light of growing concern about the effects of contact sport on brain health, we wanted to see if our brain reacts instantly to heading a football. Using a drill most amateur and professional teams would be familiar with, we found there was infact increased inhibition in the brain immediately after heading and that performance on memory tests was reduced significantly.
“Although the changes were temporary, we believe they are significant to brain health, particularly if they happen over and over again as they do in football heading. With large numbers of people around the world participating in this sport, it is important that they are aware of what is happening inside the brain and the lasting effect this may have.”
Dr Angus Hunter, Reader in Exercise Physiology in the Faculty of Health Sciences and Sport, added: “For the first time, sporting bodies and members of the public can see clear evidence of the risks associated with repetitive impact caused by heading a football.
“We hope these findings will open up new approaches for detecting, monitoring and preventing cumulative brain injuries in sport. We need to safeguard the long term health of football players at all levels, as well as individuals involved in other contact sports.”
Dr Ietswaart and Dr Hunter were supported in the research by Stirling neuropsychologist Professor Lindsay Wilson and PhD student Tom Di Virgilio, consulting with leading Glasgow University Medical School Neuropathologist Dr Willie Stewart and a wider multi-disciplinary team.
In the study, scientists measured levels of brain function using a basic neuroscience technique called Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS). The findings from this study, funded by the NIHR Brain Injury Healthcare Technology Cooperative (HTC) are the first to show the TMS technique can be used to detect changes to brain function after small, routine impacts.
http://www.ebiomedicine.com/article/S2352-3964(16)30490-X/fulltext

• Full bibliographic informationEvidence for acute electrophysiological and cognitive changes following routine soccer heading; Magdalena Ietswaart et al; EBioMedicine; published 23 October 2016
  http://www.ebiomedicine.com/article/S2352-3964(16)30490-X/fulltext

Portuguese study did not find an increased stroke risk for football/soccer fans

So have at it sports fans. I don't follow any sports so this wouldn't apply to me anyway.
http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=164601&CultureCode=en
European Academy of Neurology
Being excited for your team, rooting them on and suffering vicariously with them are the grand emotions that wash over spectators of football matches. If this increases the risk of stroke remains to be elucidated, as the number of strokes that occur on days with major matches is not significantly higher than on days when no football is played. This is the conclusion of a Portuguese study that was presented today at the Second Congress of the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) in Copenhagen.

Many studies suggest that stress during crucial matches can trigger heart attacks or strokes in passionate football fans. A group of researchers from Lisbon has now examined data from 2012 to 2015 to determine how high the risk actually is of enthusiasm at a football match triggering a stroke. The study focused on hospital statistics around crucial matches of the three best Portuguese clubs. As it turned out, there were 72 strokes on and after match days and 52 during comparable periods when no matches were played. Study author Dr Cláudia Borbinha from Hospital Egas Moniz, Lisbon, Portugal, issued an all-clear signal anyway: “The absolute number of strokes during football matches may have been higher but it was not an above-average outlier. Our data therefore furnishes no significant indications of a correlation between enthusiasm for football and increased risk of stroke.”

Source: EAN 2016 Abstract Borbinha C et al, Football: passion, indifference or vascular risk?

• Full bibliographic informationEAN 2016 Abstract Borbinha C et al, Football: passion, indifference or vascular risk?

TeamStudy app supports NFL players health research - Why not stroke?

A novel idea that will never be followed up by our fucking failures of stroke associations. A similar smartphone app for stroke should easily be able to be created. I can't see what it has since I have an android instead.
http://www.mdlinx.com/internal-medicine/top-medical-news/article/2016/04/08/1
The Football Players Health Study at Harvard University – a series of studies that examine the health and well–being of former football players and aims to develop more effective diagnostic and therapeutic interventions – launched TeamStudy, an iPhone research app built using ResearchKit, the open source software framework designed by Apple. Former NFL players were integral in designing the app to focus on health issues that matter most to them, such as memory, balance, heart health, pain and mobility. For the first time, anyone with an iPhone can support the study of athlete health and help researchers better understand the health issues that matter most to former NFL players. TeamStudy is available as a free download from the App Store.

So much than can be done in stroke yet no one lifts a finger to actually solve survivor problems.

Neuron Heroes of the Super Bowl

If you are employed by the business side of the NFL you probably don't want to see this comic, it just continues the takedown of the NFL by the movie 'Concussion'.

Tom the Dancing Bug Comic Strip on GoComics.com

Better detection of concussion in young football players

This should be transferable to detection of TBI and stroke if we had any strategy for stroke or stroke leadership at all. But we don't, so just fuck off and die is the message we are getting from our stroke associations.
http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=158773&CultureCode=en
Researcher Christian Duval, PhD, and his team have developed a new, simple and non-invasive approach to create a biomechanical and cognitive profile of football players and more quickly and accurately detect concussions in these individuals. Christian Duval and his post-doctoral student Hung Nguyen, PhD, work at the Research Centre of the Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal, which is affiliated with the University of Montreal. They presented their preliminary research findings at the International Congress on Sport Sciences Research and Technology Support, which was held in Lisbon from November 15 to 17.
For their study, Christian Duval's team performed a dual-task assessment using simultaneous biomechanical and cognitive tests to evaluate the players every week. Thanks to a markerless motion capture system, this approach let them establish a unique profile for each person in just seven minutes and detect signs of concussion in a player before the medical team could. Developing such a fast and effective test is critical, as repeated impact on the young brain over time leaves damage similar to that caused by dementia.
“We had the players walk while avoiding obstacles and while executing cognitive tasks. The combination of these two results established each individual's personal signature. Our measurements let us quickly detect concussion symptoms that could go unnoticed by health care professionals or by the young athletes themselves. The test we developed also simulates game situations, because in football, players are stimulated both physically and intellectually,” explained Christian Duval.
In a sport in which many concussions go undetected, this approach could help health care professionals to not only better detect these brain injuries but also systematically monitor all players during the season to detect or monitor those who sustain a concussion to determine when they are ready to get back out on the field.

• Full bibliographic informationLongitudinal Study on the Detection and Evaluation of Onset Mild Traumatic Brain Injury During Dual Motor and Cognitive Tasks, 3rd International Congress on Sport Sciences Research and Technology Support, At Lisbon Portugal, Duval, Christian et al. Nov 19, 2015.

Joe Namath gets results from hyperbaric chamber treatments for concussions

Well well, have your doctor analyze this for a bit. Is it placebo? Due to the use of SPECT scans by Dr. Amen they have a  reputation as only being used to deceive. This is why you talk to your doctor or your stroke association for validation before going down this questionable route.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/joe-namath-gets-results-from-hyperbaric-chamber-treatments-for-concussions-164511928.html

League of Denial: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis

I know I'm just a stroke-addled non-medical person but it seems incredibly stupid that no one in football is talking about possible interventions.
A repeat of the Frontline show on PBS, Tuesday, September 30.

UC to Study New Drug in Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury

Looking at pretreatment with fish oil or post-treatment with fish oil

After the fact here;
Aspirin plus fish oil for a hyperacute treatment 

What the hell is the downside? Fish breath?

Brain Trauma to Affect One in Three Players, N.F.L. Agrees

Does no one ever read any research at all? Or even think a little bit?
Maybe by rubbing two functioning neurons together they might look at these.  What's the downside? Fish breath?
Looking at pretreatment with fish oil or post-treatment with fish oil

After the fact here;
Aspirin plus fish oil for a hyperacute treatment
or interventions after the concussions.

Dietary Strategy to Repair Plasma Membrane After Brain Trauma Implications for Plasticity and Cognition

 

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/13/sports/football/actuarial-reports-in-nfl-concussion-deal-are-released.html?

Italian bubble football

Our stroke hospitals should have teams of stroke survivors playing this. You would be able to fall and not get hurt.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=740705515952510&fref=nf

Former Jaguars LB Russell Allen Discusses Playing Through Stroke in NFL Game

Stupid, stupid, stupid. If we can't even get professional adult football players to model the correct behavior, how are we going to get high school and college players to take brain injuries seriously?
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2037874-former-jaguars-lb-russell-allen-discusses-playing-through-stroke-in-nfl-game?

Neurology Now article - Ben Utecht, concussions in the NFL

Once again medical personell are not reading research and possibly applying it to the current conditions. 

High Note: After leaving the NFL because of repeated concussion, Ben Utecht has found a new sense of purpose in music and advocacy

This line from the article is appalling.
On average, the symptoms of a concussion last for approximately 10 to 14 days, although the underlying brain injury may last longer. The only treatment for concussion is rest.

Maybe by rubbing two functioning neurons together they might look at these.  What's the downside? Fish breath?
Looking at pretreatment with fish oil or post-treatment with fish oil

After the fact here;
Aspirin plus fish oil for a hyperacute treatment

Invisible Cure For TBI: Good News For NFL And US Army?

Is everyone in the NFL and the war machine f#cking stupid? Are these research items on fish oil not enough for implementation? What's the downside of this type of treatment? Fish breath? In exchange for relief from the effects of brain trauma?  I don't think these people have two functioning neurons to rub together.
Looking at pretreatment with fish oil or post-treatment with fish oil

After the fact here;
Aspirin plus fish oil for a hyperacute treatment

And the latest news here:
http://www.united-academics.org/magazine/mind-brain/good-news-for-nfl-and-us-army-the-invisible-cure-for-tbi/

Texas Instruments, UT-Dallas tackle sports concussions head-on

Does no one ever read any research at all? Or even think a little bit?
  Whats wrong with fish oil?
Maybe pretreatment with fish oil or post-treatment with fish oil.

Here's the report on the new detection system. Damn we need better treatment not better detection. Stupidity rules. 
http://res.dallasnews.com/interactives/2014_February/ticoncussions/

Concussion History Associated with Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease

So the one year I played football in high school I increased my risk of Alzheimers. In practice once I was playing in the defensive backfield and I was set to tackle the senior fullback coming at me. He ran me over, not even slowing down one bit.  I was briefly out but of course kept playing.
http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=137572&CultureCode=en
A new study suggests that a history of concussion involving at least a momentary loss of consciousness may be related to the buildup of Alzheimer’s-associated plaques in the brain. The research is published in the Dec. 26, 2013, online issue of Neurology^®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
“Interestingly, in people with a history of concussion, a difference in the amount of brain plaques was found only in those with memory and thinking problems, not in those who were cognitively normal,” says study author Michelle Mielke, Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic researcher.
For the study, people from Olmsted County in Minnesota were given brain scans; these included 448 people without any signs of memory problems and 141 people with memory and thinking problems called mild cognitive impairment. Participants, who were all age 70 or older, were also asked about whether they had ever experienced a brain injury that involved any loss of consciousness or memory.
Of the 448 people without any thinking or memory problems, 17 percent reported a brain injury and 18 percent of the 141 with memory and thinking difficulties reported a concussion or head trauma. The study found no difference in any brain scan measures among the people without memory and thinking impairments, whether or not they had head trauma. However, people with memory and thinking impairments and a history of head trauma had levels of amyloid plaques an average of 18 percent higher than those with no head trauma history.
“Our results add merit to the idea that concussion and Alzheimer’s disease brain pathology may be related,” Dr. Mielke says. “However, the fact that we did not find a relationship in those without memory and thinking problems suggests that any association between head trauma and amyloid is complex.”
The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Alexander Family Alzheimer’s Disease Research Professorship, GE Healthcare, the Elsie and Marvin Dekelboum Family Foundation, the MN Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics and the
Robert H. and Clarice Smith and Abigail van Buren Alzheimer’s Disease Research Program.

Why is a widely-used concussion test failing to protect athletes?

Simple, its not objective, maybe one of these 17 ways.
http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/16/4842176/what-causes-impact-concussion-test-forms-unreliability

NFL reaches concussion settlement

And after spending 765 million they could possibly prevent a lot of this from my 2 free ideas.
765 million dollars of stupidity.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2013/08/29/nfl-concussion-settlement-judge-anita-brody-tony-dorsett-jim-mcmahon-junior-seau/2727483/
Pretreatment like this;

Effect of fish oil supplementation in a rat model of multiple mild traumatic brain injuries

or interventions after the concussions.

Dietary Strategy to Repair Plasma Membrane After Brain Trauma Implications for Plasticity and Cognition

The NFL has enough money to employ as least one good researcher who could find and push these solutions.  But they seem to be just as naked as the medical emperors.

Football - Heads Up: Good play or good ploy?

Safety concerns about tackling in youth football. Notice they say nothing about pretreatment like this;

Effect of fish oil supplementation in a rat model of multiple mild traumatic brain injuries

or interventions after the concussions.

Dietary Strategy to Repair Plasma Membrane After Brain Trauma Implications for Plasticity and Cognition

The NFL has enough money to employ as least one good researcher who could find and push these solutions.  But they seem to be just as naked as the medical emperors.

Tackling Cardiovascular Health Risks in College Football Players

Be careful, especially if you are  a lineman.
The MedPage writeup here;

College Football Linked to High Blood Pressure

The full article here;
http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/128/5/477.full