Boxing and Sambo may cause Parkinsonism
A study conducted by the Boston University School of Sports Medicine found an association between participation in contact sports and Parkinsonism in people with chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
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The largest CTE study to date has found a new link between contact sports participation, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and the development of a movement disorder known as parkinsonism.
A study of 481 deceased athletes conducted by Boston University researchers Chobanian and Avedisyan School of Medicine and VA Boston Healthcare, shows that most people with CTE develop parkinsonism.
Parkinsonism — is a condition characterized by symptoms similar to Parkinson's disease, such as tremors, abnormal slowness of movement, or abnormal stiffness of the arms or legs. It has long been associated with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and CTE in boxers. However, the specific pathologies underlying these symptoms in CTE were unknown.
«We were surprised to find that the majority of people with CTE and parkinsonism did not have Lewy body pathology, — noted study author Thor Stein.
Parkinson's disease is associated with the accumulation of proteins called Lewy bodies in brain cells, but researchers found that 76 percent of people with CTE and Parkinsonism did not have Lewy body pathology.
«Most likely — Stein explained, — Parkinson's subjects were more likely to experience CTE-related brain cell death in an area of the brain stem important for motor control.
CTE — a degenerative brain disease whose only known cause is repeated head impacts, such as those encountered in contact sports. A 2018 study by the same research group found that length of time playing contact sports was associated with an increased risk of developing Lewy body disease. However, the present study is the first to describe the association between contact sports participation, brainstem pathology, and parkinsonism in CTE.
“Increased severity of CTE has been shown to be associated with increased duration of gaming,— commented Daniel Kirsch. — In this study, we found that an additional eight years of contact sports participation was associated with a 50 percent increased risk of developing more serious diseases in a specific region of the brain stem that controls movement.
Study participants donated their brains to the UNITE brain bank. Patients with parkinsonism were compared with those without it to identify types of pathologies that may explain why some people with CTE develop these symptoms and to examine the relationship with duration of participation in contact sports.
It The study highlights the importance of understanding the long-term effects of repeated head impacts and the need for preventive measures in contact sports to reduce the risk of neurodegenerative diseases such as CTE and Parkinsonism.