Brett Favre Parkinson’s diagnosis renews questions about football and brain disease

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 prognosis 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 dropping 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 identified with Parkinson’s,” Favre stated.

Favre performed 20 seasons within the NFL, 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 sort of horrifying concerning the concussion factor. It’s those that appear minor that do the injury.”

Sports activities that contain repetitive collisions — comparable 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 sort 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 information 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 continual traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). A number of research have discovered {that a} single concussion can increase an individual’s threat of being identified with Parkinson’s by greater than 55%.

The NFL didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark about Favre’s prognosis and the hyperlink between soccer and neurodegenerative illness.

Final 12 months, a examine discovered {that a} historical past of enjoying soccer was related to 61% larger odds of getting Parkinson’s signs or being identified with the illness. A 2018 examine equally discovered that repetitive head impacts from years of enjoying contact sports activities had been related to precursors to Parkinson’s.

Hannah Bruce, an writer 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 Heart. “However we’re seeing extra soccer gamers come ahead. It undoubtedly says one thing.”

Neurologists who handled boxing legend Muhammad Ali concluded in 2022 that his medical historical past supported a prognosis of young-onset Parkinson’s illness, however they may not hyperlink the illness to go trauma. Ali died in 2016.

Parkinson’s is a neurodegenerative illness that causes nerve cells within the mind to weaken and die. It could actually result in tremors, muscle stiffness, impaired steadiness and bother strolling and speaking. To cut back the signs, sufferers usually take prescription medicines or obtain deep mind stimulation, which sends electrical pulses to nerve cells within the mind.

Repeated trauma to the mind is thought to be a possible set off for the illness, since it might probably trigger irritation that results in the demise of extra nerve cells over time. Nevertheless it’s one in all 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 sometimes 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 simple to diagnose, and signs don’t essentially develop quickly after a head damage.

Thor Stein, director of molecular analysis at Boston College’s CTE Heart 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 identified autopsy.

“The extra you get these repetitive hits to the top, the longer you might be uncovered to that, the higher 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 usually not the standard pathology, however usually it’s CTE that’s inflicting their Parkinson’s illness signs.”

In a July examine of mind donors with identified CTE, Stein and his co-authors 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 far more vulnerable 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 hold enjoying just isn’t factor.”