Out of the ring: boxing and long-term brain damage

Charles Bernick at the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas (NV, USA) is lead researcher of the “Professional Fighters Brain Health Study”, which measures the effects of long-term head trauma in combat sports. Using MRI, the Study sought to identity the so-called breaking point, when continued repetitive blows to the head lead to measurable cognitive impairment. The results from the study show that Fight Exposure Score—based on duration and intensity of fights—was associated with lower brain volumes, notably in the thalamus and caudate, and speed of processing slowed with decreased thalamic volumes and with increasing fight exposure.