Amateur boxing and brain damage
Medical Studies/Trials
Published: Sunday, 6-May-2007
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Blows to the head in amateur boxing appear to cause brain damage,
according to research that will be presented at the American Academy
of Neurology's 59th Annual Meeting in Boston.
"Despite the high prevalence of brain damage as a result of
professional boxing, until now there has been little information on
the possible risks for brain injury in amateur boxing," said study
author Max Hietala, MD, PhD, with Sahlgrenska University Hospital,
Goteborg, Sweden.

For the study, researchers used lumbar puncture to determine if there
were elevated levels of biochemical markers for brain injury in the
cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 14 amateur boxers. Boxers were tested
after a fight and then again three months after rest from boxing. The
study also included 10 healthy men who were not athletes.

The study found high CSF levels of neuronal and glial markers
suggestive of brain damage after a fight. A particular marker for
neuronal damage, neurofilament light (NFL), was four times higher in
boxers within 10 days of the fight as compared with healthy non-
athletes. These increased levels returned to normal after three
months rest from boxing.

In addition, the increased levels after a fight were significantly
higher among amateur boxers who had received more than 15 high impact
hits to the head compared with boxers who reported fewer hits. The
boxers who had received more than 15 high impact hits to the head had
seven to eight times higher NFL-levels post fight compared to their
levels following a three-months rest.

"Repeated hits to the head are potentially damaging to the central
nervous system, and our results suggest CSF-analysis could be used
for medical counseling of athletes after boxing or head injury," said
Hietala.

The study was extended to soccer players heading the ball repeatedly
from long and high goal kicks. No increased levels of biochemical
markers for brain damage in cerebrospinal fluid were found. "This
data shows headings in soccer is not associated with any
neurochemical evidence of brain damage," said Hietala.

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