Published: December 1, 2011
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sing diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to study the effects of soccer ‘heading,’ researchers have found that players who head the ball with high frequency have brain abnormalities similar to those found in traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients. Results of their study were presented today at the annual meeting of the
Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
- Researchers used diffusion tensor imaging to determine if heading a soccer ball could cause brain injury.
- Players who most frequently headed the ball exhibited abnormalities in five brain regions.
- Players who headed the ball at least 1,000 to 1,500 times per year showed detectable white matter injury.
Heading, in which players field the soccer ball with their head, is an essential part of the game and the focus of many training drills.
“Heading a soccer ball is not an impact of a magnitude that will lacerate nerve fibers in the brain,” said Michael L. Lipton, M.D., Ph.D., associate director of the Gruss Magnetic Resonance Research Center at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and medical director of MRI services at Montefiore Medical Center in New York. “But repetitive heading could set off a cascade of responses that can lead to degeneration of brain cells.” [continue reading…]
Published: December 1, 2011
“Eat your fish” my mother use to say “its good for your brain”, well ma it looks like you were right. In a new study researchers suggest.e that eating fish at least once a week could help lower older patients’ risk of developing dementia
People who eat baked or broiled fish on a weekly basis may be improving their brain health and reducing their risk of developing mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
“This is the first study to establish a direct relationship between fish consumption, brain structure and Alzheimer’s risk,” said Cyrus Raji, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. “The results showed that people who consumed baked or broiled fish at least one time per week had better preservation of gray matter volume on MRI in brain areas at risk for Alzheimer’s disease.” [continue reading…]
