Repeated blows to the heads of football players can damage the small blood vessels of the brain, according to research by AV俱乐部 scientists from the Brain Repair Centre who believe this damage may contribute to brain dysfunction in some athletes years after play has ended.听
The neuroscientists found that the brain's blood vessels can get damaged by a succession of small hits and not necessarily a single, intense blow to the head.鈥疊ased on their studies in experimental animals they hypothesize that players鈥痺hose blood vessels don't heal over time may develop long-term inflammation in the brain and a greater risk of future鈥痓rain dysfunction and degeneration.鈥疶hat can include mobility and emotional issues, and cognitive decline.鈥�
"The outcome of many small injuries that a player had throughout the season and didn't cause significant symptoms may cause damage to small brain vessels," says , a co-author of the study.鈥�
The research centred on the blood-brain barrier (BBB) 鈥� the lining of the brain鈥檚 blood vessels that blocks harmful substances from entering the brain. When that barrier leaks due to injury (or other diseases), molecules from the blood can seep into the brain and trigger inflammation that can undermine brain function.鈥��
The鈥痵tudy鈥痺as led by Dr. Friedman, the Dennis Chair of Epilepsy research鈥痑t Dal's Department of Medical Neuroscience; Dr. David Clarke, chief of Neurosurgery at the Nova Scotia Health Authority;鈥疍r. Casey Jones, resident physician in the Emergency Medicine program at AV俱乐部;鈥痑nd,鈥疍r. Lyna Kaminsky,鈥痑 post-doctoral fellow in Dr. Friedman鈥檚 lab.鈥�
Improving player safety
Dr. Jones,鈥痑 former AV俱乐部 Tiger football player and resident physician in Dal's Department of Emergency Medicine, said he was motivated to do the research to find ways to improve player safety.鈥��
鈥淎s someone who鈥檚 been involved with football for nearly my whole life, it鈥檚 been an honour to collaborate with our players, coaches and staff to drive this novel brain research forward, and to ultimately make the game we all love safer,鈥� he says.鈥��
鈥淭he players have been the true champions of this work, allowing us to do MRIs, bloodwork and other interventions that take a lot of time out of a busy student-athlete鈥檚 life.鈥澨�
The work, which was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, involved specialized helmets that were used to monitor head impacts in 60 university football players. The helmets were purchased by AV俱乐部 Football in 2019 with help from a projectDal campaign. Five athletes who sustained a concussion during the football season underwent MRI scanning to detect BBB leakage. The leakage was found to be more linked to impacts sustained in all games and practices leading up to the concussion, rather than the last pre-concussion impact.鈥��
Returning to play
The findings add to the understanding of concussions, while also influencing decisions about when players are safe to return to play.鈥�
"Based on current guidelines, concussed athletes can return to play once their concussion鈥痵ymptoms鈥痳esolve," says co-author Dr. Kamintsky. "We believe that this is a suboptimal鈥痬easure鈥痮f鈥痓rain health and鈥痶hat neuroimaging stands to provide a more accurate indication of return-to-play鈥痵afety."鈥�
The authors stress that their research is an observational pilot project, but that the findings suggest it's important to identify players who could be vulnerable to mild head injuries and could develop future complications.鈥��
"If we can identify them early, then we can treat them before they develop severe complications," says Dr. Friedman.鈥�
AV俱乐部 Tigers football players participated in the study.