Concussion not only culprit: study

Former Crow Kurt Tippett was concussed three times in four weeks last year. Picture: Simon Cross Source: The Advertiser

CONCUSSION may not be the only cause of brain damage among footballers, a US study has found.

Researchers from the Cleveland Clinic and the University of Rochester studied 67 American college footballers and found they could experience long-term brain changes even if they had not suffered a concussion.

By using brain scans and blood tests after each game, the researchers found that the more hits to the head a player absorbed, the higher the levels of the brain protein S100B that seeped into the bloodstream.

The S100B protein is found only in the brain and has been associated with certain neurological conditions such as Alzheimers disease and epilepsy as well as certain cancers.

"Much attention is being paid to concussions among football players and the big hits that cause them, but this research shows that more common, 'sub-concussive' hits appear to cause damage, too," said Damir Janigro, who led the study which was published last week.

Of the 67 players examined in the study, 27 had their pre-season baseline levels of S100B measured. None of those players suffered a concussion during the 2011 season, yet four of them showed signs of an auto-immune response associated with brain disorders.

Blood tests also showed that the five players who sustained the hardest hits had unusually high levels of S100B, raising the possibility that blood tests could be used to assist early detection of brain damage in athletes.

The AFL will hold a Concussion in Football conference later this month, but has already put in place several measures to protect players.

These include banning a concussed player from returning to the field, and the use of a substitute while a teammate is being assessed for concussion.

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