Brain's protective barrier stays leaky for years after playing contact sports

"The protective shield known as the blood-brain barrier can be damaged and leaky decades after an athlete retires from sport. This persistent leakiness seems to trigger a long-lasting immune response that is closely tied to cognitive decline."

"Campbell and his colleagues wanted to see whether they could spot warning signs in living athletes by looking at the blood-brain barrier, a dense layer of cells lining the blood vessels that supply the brain. This layer usually keeps harmful substances from leaking out of the blood and into brain tissue."

"The brain scans showed that the blood-brain barriers of the contact-sport athletes were significantly leakier than were those of people in the control group, even though the athletes had been retired for an average of 12 years."

Scientists have identified a mechanism explaining how repeated head impacts in contact sports lead to severe cognitive decline years later. A study of retired contact-sport athletes revealed that their blood-brain barriers remain damaged and leaky an average of 12 years after retirement. This protective barrier normally prevents harmful substances from entering brain tissue. The persistent leakiness triggers a long-lasting immune response associated with memory loss and dementia. This finding provides crucial insight into chronic traumatic encephalopathy and other neurodegenerative conditions that previously could only be diagnosed through post-mortem examination. The research offers potential for identifying warning signs in living athletes.

Read at Nature