Printer friendly version Olympic boxing may damage the brain 23
April 2012 University of Gothenburg Olympic boxers can exhibit
changes in brain fluids after bouts, which indicates nerve cell
damage. This is shown in a study of 30 top-level Swedish boxers
that was conducted at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University
of Gothenburg, Sweden, in collaboration with the Swedish Boxing
Federation, published in PLoS ONE. It has been debated for quite
some time whether Olympic boxing (amateur boxing) is hazardous
to the brain. Researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy, Gothenburg
University, joined with colleagues at the Faculty of Health
Sciences at Linköping University and the Swedish Boxing
Association in conducting a unique study of 30 top-level Swedish
boxers and 25 reference persons. Brain injury similar to
Alzheimer´s The study shows that repeated blows to the head in
the boxing ring can produce a release of brain injury markers to
the brain fluid, similar to what is seen with after other types
of head trauma, as