Some soccer players are at risk of brain damage similar to CTE
American football isn’t the only contact sport that has medical experts concerned with the brain health of athletes. New evidence suggests that certain soccer players may be at heightened risk of long-term brain abnormalities, too.
In fact, some—in particular those who are skilled at heading the ball—have MRI findings similar to those observed in cases of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), according to new research set to be presented during the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.
"The potential effects of repeated head impacts in sport are much more extensive than previously known and affect locations similar to where we've seen CTE pathology," Michael L. Lipton, MD, PhD, professor of radiology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York and senior author of the new study warns in a release on the findings. "This raises concern for delayed adverse effects of head impacts."
This observation was made with the help of diffusion MR imaging. For the study, Lipton and colleagues compared diffusion MRI brain scans from a group of 352 amateur soccer players and 77 athletes who participated in non-contact sports. This enabled them to view the microstructures of the participants’ brains in great detail.
Compared to the non-contact athletes, experts found that soccer players who frequently directed the ball in the air with their head showed alterations in the brain’s white matter adjacent to sulci. What’s more, the abnormalities occurred most often in the frontal lobe, which corresponds to the area of the head used to direct the ball when heading.
Abnormalities in these regions are common in some of the most severe traumatic brain injuries, Lipton cautions.
"The study identifies structural brain abnormalities from repeated head impacts among healthy athletes," he says. "The abnormalities occur in the locations most characteristic of CTE, are associated with worse ability to learn a cognitive task and could affect function in the future."
Although it has been well established that repeated blows to the head during contact sports carry significant potential for long-term ramifications for neural health, these new findings shine new light on the potential extent of the damage. Lipton says that his team’s research will continue to investigate the underlying mechanisms of the abnormalities observed in this study, with the hopes of being able to provide some insight into potential protective measures.
In addition to her background in journalism, Hannah also has patient-facing experience in clinical settings, having spent more than 12 years working as a registered rad tech. She joined Innovate Healthcare in 2021 and has since put her unique expertise to use in her editorial role with Health Imaging.