The Abstract
- Brett Favre revealed on Tuesday that he has Parkinson’s illness.
- Early analysis has established a probable hyperlink between contact sports activities like soccer and Parkinson’s, in addition to different neurodegenerative ailments.
- One examine discovered {that a} historical past of taking part in soccer was related to 61% greater odds of getting Parkinson’s signs or the illness.
Corridor of Fame quarterback Brett Favre’s announcement that he has Parkinson’s illness is bringing renewed consideration to the potential hyperlinks between collision sports activities and a threat of mind illness.
Favre revealed his analysis on Tuesday whereas testifying earlier than Congress about his alleged misuse of taxpayer cash. The listening to targeted on a welfare scandal in Mississippi, however the topic of Favre’s well being arose as a result of he mentioned shedding an funding in an organization that he believed was making a “breakthrough concussion drug.”
“I’m positive you’ll perceive why it’s too late for me as a result of I’ve lately been recognized with Parkinson’s,” Favre stated.
Favre performed 20 seasons within the Nationwide Soccer League, largely for the Inexperienced Bay Packers, and retired 13 years in the past. In a 2022 interview with “The Bubba Military” radio present, he estimated that he had suffered hundreds of concussions.
“Each time my head hit the turf, there was ringing or stars going, flash bulbs, however I used to be nonetheless in a position to play,” he stated in that interview. “That’s what’s type of scary in regards to the concussion factor. It’s those that appear minor that do the harm.”
Sports activities that contain repetitive collisions — corresponding to soccer, boxing and rugby — carry a threat of concussions and different head accidents.
“We all know that the mind can solely take a lot, and when there’s this sort of trauma — not even simply sports-related, however any type of repeated trauma to the mind — we all know it’s going to have an effect on it down the road,” stated Shannon Shaffer, a nurse practitioner on the Cleveland Clinic and liaison at Rune Labs, a neurology-focused software program and knowledge analytics firm.
Early analysis has established a probable hyperlink between these actions and Parkinson’s, in addition to different neurodegenerative ailments like Alzheimer’s, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and persistent traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). A number of research have discovered {that a} single concussion can increase an individual’s threat of being recognized with Parkinson’s by greater than 55%.
The NFL didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark about Favre’s analysis and the hyperlink between soccer and neurodegenerative illness.
Final yr, a examine discovered {that a} historical past of taking part in soccer was related to 61% greater odds of getting Parkinson’s signs or being recognized with the illness. A 2018 examine equally discovered that repetitive head impacts from years of taking part in contact sports activities had been related to precursors to Parkinson’s.
Hannah Bruce, an creator of the 2023 examine, stated it may be troublesome to find out what function, if any, soccer performed in a case like Favre’s.
“It’s onerous to say whether or not it’s precisely due to the soccer or if it simply elevated his threat or odds of growing Parkinson’s illness, or if there’s different elements at play,” stated Bruce, who carried out the analysis on the Boston College Alzheimer’s Illness Analysis Middle. “However we’re seeing extra soccer gamers come ahead. It positively says one thing.”
Neurologists who handled boxing legend Muhammad Ali concluded in 2022 that his medical historical past supported a analysis of young-onset Parkinson’s illness, however they might not hyperlink the illness to move trauma. Ali died in 2016.
Parkinson’s is a neurodegenerative illness that causes nerve cells within the mind to weaken and die. It may possibly result in tremors, muscle stiffness, impaired stability and bother strolling and speaking. To cut back the signs, sufferers typically take prescription drugs or obtain deep mind stimulation, which sends electrical pulses to nerve cells within the mind.
Repeated trauma to the mind is understood to be a possible set off for the illness, since it could trigger irritation that results in the dying of extra nerve cells over time. However it’s one in every of many threat elements, together with older age, an underlying genetic susceptibility and publicity to sure pesticides.
Dr. Kevin Crutchfield, a neurologist at Hackensack Meridian Well being, stated docs usually rule out different elements earlier than linking Parkinson’s to soccer accidents.
“The default isn’t, ‘Oh, you performed soccer, you bought Parkinson’s,’” he stated.
Crutchfield added that tens of hundreds of males have performed within the NFL and, to this point, there’s no tidal wave of Parkinson’s diagnoses amongst them. However the illness isn’t at all times straightforward to diagnose, and signs don’t essentially develop quickly after a head harm.
Thor Stein, director of molecular analysis at Boston College’s CTE Middle and a co-author of the 2023 examine, stated that in some instances, CTE is usually a set off for Parkinson’s. Many former soccer gamers have been discovered to point out indicators of the mind illness, which might solely be recognized autopsy.
“The extra you get these repetitive hits to the pinnacle, the longer you might be uncovered to that, the better your threat is for growing numerous totally different degenerative ailments, together with each CTE and Parkinson’s illness,” Stein stated. “And extra lately, surprisingly, we discovered that in these individuals who do develop these signs that it’s typically not the everyday pathology, however typically it’s CTE that’s inflicting their Parkinson’s illness signs.”
In a July examine of mind donors with recognized CTE, Stein and his coauthors discovered that just about 1 / 4 had exhibited indicators of parkinsonism.
Favre stated in an interview with TODAY in 2021 that he wasn’t positive whether or not he had CTE.
Crutchfield stated it’s essential for gamers to take breaks after a head trauma to keep away from extra severe mind accidents.
“The mind is way more inclined to recurrent hits in case your mind hasn’t had sufficient time to heal,” he stated. “So athletes hiding a concussion as a result of they need to preserve taking part in shouldn’t be a superb factor.”