American football players' brains show the signs of previous brain injuries

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2023-10-31 02:00

Australia; International; NSW

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Former American National Football League (NFL) players have higher levels of a protein in their brain that indicates brain injury and repair, compared with non-collision sport athletes, according to Aussie and International research, which found that these players also had lower performance in learning and memory. The study included 54 athletes, and found higher levels of the 18 kDa translocator protein (TSPO) that mark brain injury and repair.

Media release

From: JAMA

About The Study: In this imaging study that included 54 athletes, higher levels of 18 kDa translocator protein (TSPO) that mark brain injury and repair were found in former National Football League (NFL) players compared with former non-collision sport athletes. The NFL players also had lower performance in learning and memory. These findings suggest that further tracking of TSPO levels in relation to neuropsychological performance over time is needed to understand whether these signs persist, progress, and/or warrant neuroimmune-modulating interventions.

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Journal/
conference: JAMA Network Open

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: The University of Sydney

Funder: This work was supported by grant NS100847 from the National Institutes of Health.

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