Does Swedish amateur boxing lead to chronic brain damage? 3. A retrospective clinical neurophysiological study

Abstract The aim of the present study was to investigate possible chronic brain damage due to Swedish amateur boxing. Forty seven former amateur boxers, 22 with many (HM = high‐matched) and 25 with few matches (LM = low‐matched) during their career were examined and compared with two control groups of 25 soccer players and 25 track and field athletes in the same age‐range. No severe EEG abnormality was found. There was a somewhat higher incidence of slight or moderate EEG deviations among HM‐(32%, 7/22) and LM‐(36%, 9/25) boxers than among soccer players (20%, 5/25) and track and field athletes (12%, 3/25). Brain electric activity mapping (BEAM), brainstem auditory evoked potential (BAEP) and auditory evoked P 300 potential (P 300) did not differ significantly between the groups. No neurophysiological variable was correlated to the number of bouts, number of lost fights or length of boxing career. Thus, no signs of serious chronic brain damage was found among the amateur boxers or the soccer players and the track and field athletes. However, it cannot be excluded that the EEG differences between the groups may be a sign of slight brain dysfunction in some of the amateur boxers.

[1]  E. Busse,et al.  Electroencephalographic changes in professional boxers. , 1952, Journal of the American Medical Association.

[2]  F E Bloom,et al.  P300 latency reflects the degree of cognitive decline in dementing illness. , 1986, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology.

[3]  F. Gibbs,et al.  Atlas of electroencephalography , 1941 .

[4]  A. Guterman,et al.  Neurological Sequelae of Boxing , 1987, Sports medicine.

[5]  S. Galbraith,et al.  A neuropsychological study of active amateur boxers. , 1987, Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry.

[6]  A. Christensen,et al.  Neurological, electroencephalographic and neuropsychological examination of 53 former amateur boxers , 1979, Acta neurologica Scandinavica.

[7]  G. Edman,et al.  Does Swedish amateur boxing lead to chronic brain damage? 1. A retrospective medical, neurological and personality trait study , 1990, Acta neurologica Scandinavica.

[8]  H. Kaplan,et al.  Observations on the clinical and brain wave patterns of professional boxers. , 1954, Journal of the American Medical Association.

[9]  R. Ludwig.  Making boxing safer. The Swedish model. , 1986, JAMA.

[10]  I. Casson,et al.  Brain damage in modern boxers. , 1984, JAMA.

[11]  Frank H. Duffy,et al.  Establishment of Guidelines for the Use of Topographic Mapping in Clinical Neurophysiology: A Philosophical Approach , 1989 .

[12]  M. Rowe,et al.  Brainstem auditory evoked potentials in postconcussion dizziness. , 1980, Archives of neurology.

[13]  J. Johnson.  The EEG in the traumatic encephalopathy of boxers. , 1969, Psychiatria clinica.

[14]  F H Duffy,et al.  Age‐related differences in brain electrical activity of healthy subjects , 1984, Annals of neurology.

[15]  K. Squires,et al.  Long latency event-related components of the auditory evoked potential in dementia. , 1978, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[16]  C. Aine,et al.  Event Related Potential Assessment of Sensory and Cognitive Deficits in the Mentally Retarded , 1979 .

[17]  C. Bruton,et al.  The aftermath of boxing , 1973, Psychological Medicine.

[18]  W. Grote,et al.  [Electroencephalographic and clinical findings in boxers and their significance in the pathophysiology of traumatic brain disorders]. , 1956, Archiv fur Psychiatrie und Nervenkrankheiten, vereinigt mit Zeitschrift fur die gesamte Neurologie und Psychiatrie.

[19]  A T Tysvaer,et al.  Soccer injuries to the brain , 1989, The American journal of sports medicine.

[20]  Williams Ln,et al.  PROGNOSIS AND DISABLEMENT PENSIONS. , 1964 .

[21]  L. Ravagnati,et al.  BRAIN DAMAGE IN BOXERS , 1983, The Lancet.

[22]  M. Aminoff.  Evoked potentials in clinical medicine. , 1986, The Quarterly journal of medicine.

[23]  B. Jordan.  Neurologic aspects of boxing. , 1987, Archives of neurology.

[24]  M. Kaste,et al.  IS CHRONIC BRAIN DAMAGE IN BOXING A HAZARD OF THE PAST? , 1982, The Lancet.

[25]  Richard J. Burns.  Boxing and the brain. , 1986, Australian and New Zealand journal of medicine.

[26]  J. Fritze,et al.  Event-Related Potentials in Patients with Brain Tumors and Traumatic Head Injuries , 1989 .

[27]  M. Soutsu.  [Auditory brain stem responses of knocked-out boxers]. , 1988, No to shinkei = Brain and nerve.

[28]  K. Squires,et al.  Sequential changes in the P3 component of the auditory evoked potential in confusional states and dementing illnesses , 1983, Neurology.

[29]  M. Critchley.  Medical Aspects of Boxing, Particularly from a Neurological Standpoint* , 1957, British medical journal.

[30]  D. Regan,et al.  Auditory brainstem responses in postconcussion syndrome. , 1981, Archives of neurology.

[31]  M. Cole,et al.  Boxers--computed tomography, EEG, and neurological evaluation. , 1983, JAMA.

[32]  N Brooks,et al.  Clinical neurological examination, neuropsychology, electroencephalography and computed tomographic head scanning in active amateur boxers. , 1987, Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry.

[33]  F. Duffy.  Topographic Mapping of Brain Electrical Activity: Clinical Applications and Issues , 1989 .

[34]  J. R. Hughes,et al.  The EEG in patients at different ages without organic cerebral disease. , 1977, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology.

[35]  J. Corsellis.  Boxing and the brain. , 1989, BMJ.

[36]  I. Casson,et al.  Neurological and CT evaluation of knocked-out boxers. , 1982, Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry.