Key result
Professional boxing resulted in definite evidence of brain damage in 87% of evaluated boxers, with all participants showing abnormal results on at least one neuropsychological test.
Why the study?
Does a career in professional boxing result in brain damage in former and active boxers?
Does a career in professional boxing result in brain damage in former and active boxers?
A career in professional boxing is frequently associated with objective evidence of brain damage.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Alerts clinicians to screen boxers for neurological deficits; leaves open true prevalence and causality in larger cohorts.
Eighteen former and active boxers underwent neurological examination, EEG, computed tomographic scan of the brain, and neuropsychological testing. Eighty-seven percent of the professional boxers had definite evidence of brain damage. All the boxers had abnormal results on at least one of the neuropsychological tests. Brain damage is a frequent result of a career in professional boxing.
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Ira R. Casson (1984) studied this question. Professional boxing resulted in definite evidence of brain damage in 87% of evaluated boxers, with all participants showing abnormal results on at least one neuropsychological test.
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