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September 22, 2015
With the start of the Rugby World Cup, Professor Allyson Pollock has been in the UK news this week highlighting the sport's risk of brain injury, particularly for children.
Allyson comments:
"A link has been found between repeat concussions and mild cognitive impairment in young adult male rugby players within three months of having sustained a concussion. Repeat concussions are associated with depression, memory loss, and poorer verbal fluency diagnosed in later life among former American football and ice hockey players.
Researchers are also starting to find evidence of a link between repeat concussions and Parkinson’s disease, and dementia or chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) – a progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in people with a history of repetitive brain trauma."
She further notes that "With two and a half million players, England accounts for 30% of the world’s rugby union players, of whom an estimated 1.2 million are children. Parents expect their children to be offered the sport, not realising the potential harms."
Professor Pollock was interviewed on the BBC World Service, the Today program and you can also read her opinion piece in The Guardian.
