Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center have revealed preliminary data from a study examining whether concussions in college lead to long-term memory problems.
The study, known as the College Level Aging Athlete Study, was a follow-up to previous research the team conducted looking at the risk of later-life memory deficiencies in former NFL players. That study found no significant link between concussions and memory problems.
Principal Investigator Dr. C. Monro Cullum shared the preliminary findings from the first stage of the College Level Aging Athlete Study study with KERA News.
“There’s a lot of talk and concern about the condition called, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. With reports of some former NFL players turning up with this, abnormal pathology in their brains,” Cullom said. “And some of the researchers ascribing that to a history of concussion and or repetitive head hits.”
Cullum further explained that despite CTE being covered regularly in the media, there is little research and no formal diagnosis for the condition. He said it remains a rare condition and is probably “overstated” and “misused.”
An earlier study published in 2022 by Brain Injury examined former NFL players and looked for signs of declining cognitive function. That study found no link between concussions and memory disorders.
The new study went beyond football players to look at other sports and included female athletes, which Cullum said there is even less research available.
“So one of the areas that’s really understudied is aging female athletes with and without a history of concussion related to sport,” Cullum said. “We just don’t know as much about the female aging brain with respect to concussion, and what factors contribute to, quality of life, mental health, and cognitive status later in life.”
Cullum added that about one-quarter of the female participants expressed concern about long-term effects from sport-related concussions, but the study did not find a link between the two.
Recently, California lawmakers proposed legislation that would bar children under the age of 12 from playing football, claiming that the risk of long-term brain injury from concussions was too high a risk, as reported by The Associated Press. The bill was killed after it was introduced to the House.
While the long-term risks of concussions may be overstated, heightened attention to concussions has led to rule changes in the NFL. The NFL reports that new quarterback-specific helmets will help prevent head injuries while harnessing artificial intelligence, allowing the league to create models to predict injuries and find ways to reduce them.
