MRI shows neurological affects of one football season

Just a single season of tackle football was enough to produce noticeable changes in the brains of boys aged 8 to 13 years old, according to a study released in Radiology.

The deleterious impact of concussions has rocked the football world over the past five years, but now researchers are turning to the long-term effects of sub-concussive impacts. Depending on the definition, such impacts may occur on every single down played in the National Football League. These sub-concussive impacts spurred Professor Christopher Whitlow, MD, of Wake Forest School of Medicine, to investigate changes in younger players.

Whitlow and his researchers fitted players with special helmets that tracked impacts and took MRI scans of the players' brains both before and after the season. They found subtle changes, noting the players with the most collisions to the head also had the most change in their white matter.

Read more about the study and the implications at the link below:

As a Senior Writer for TriMed Media Group, Will covers radiology practice improvement, policy, and finance. He lives in Chicago and holds a bachelor’s degree in Life Science Communication and Global Health from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He previously worked as a media specialist for the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. Outside of work you might see him at one of the many live music venues in Chicago or walking his dog Holly around Lakeview.

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