SThere will be another huge clash between New Zealand and England this weekend. Note the intentional use of the word “collision.” Every modern test requires such a thrilling level of commitment that the “game” feels inadequate. Eden would no longer be a habitat for pacifists, and neither black nor white gladiators would consider the possible long-term effects of their cruel trade.
However, at the University of Auckland, more than two miles outside town, they are busy doing just that for them. “The dream of neuroscientists is that people maintain their abilities throughout their lives,” says Maurice Curtis, professor of neuroscience and deputy director of the New Zealand Brain Bank, which is studying the impact of head impacts in sports. Influence. “We want their brain health to be optimized every step of the way.”
Across the coffee table sat Dr. Helen Murray, another renowned expert in the same field and a top athlete. Her “other” life was playing left wing for the New Zealand women’s ice hockey team Ice Fernz, which makes her qualified to discuss the pros and cons of contact sports. “You don’t need to look pretty at the end,” she told Breakdown. “But we want to make sure you get to the end with a high quality of life.”
Sadly, not everyone has this luxury. The death of former Tasman and Maori All Blacks halfback Billy Guyton at the age of 33 last year shocked the New Zealand rugby community. He had suffered the after-effects of repeated concussions and was the first New Zealand professional rugby player to be posthumously publicly diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). His family, who witnessed his anxiety, depression and increasing mental confusion, donated his brain to a brain bank in an attempt to help others.
His tragic case is part of a growing body of worrying stories. Murray said she receives at least one email a week from someone who thinks they may have CTE. “We know there are many more people out there who haven’t received a formal diagnosis,” she said. There are about 40 former rugby players in New Zealand alone who fall into this category, and at least 200 more in Australia.
Experts will also tell you that this is well beyond the level of those who have played top-level rugby. “When we started, we thought we might get one case a year,” said Curtis, who now receives several invitations to donate brains every week. “We usually engage with people who played rugby many years ago or who played rugby more recently but died young. But in reality, CTE is also evident in people who have been involved in school and club rugby for a long time. Many companies have not yet gone public. As Ke “Those who don’t make the headlines are the ones who suffer in silence,” Thies said. “
It goes without saying that none of this is what the rugby world wants to hear. The ongoing court proceedings in the UK involving hundreds of former players have attracted global attention, but staying in touch with the families of those affected, such as the Guytons, is what really spurred Auckland neuroscientists to take action. “I was particularly moved when Billy’s father was asked if he would let his youngest son, who was about 10 years old, play rugby,” Curtis said. “He just said no. I guess he just didn’t see enough changes in the game.
He also cited a recent newspaper article in New Zealand by Geoff Cooper, whose father, also named Geoff, loved rugby and played for more than half a century. In the end, his love was not returned. “My father did not want to die doing something he loved,” his son wrote. “Fifty-seven years of football brought Jeffrey Joseph Cooper friends and good health. But it also left him with chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
This adds further weight to the work being done in Auckland and internationally. For example, might certain Alzheimer’s treatments be more effective against CTE? The holy grail is a brain scan or biomarker — preferably a simple blood test — that can catch red flags early. “What’s important to us is how we provide diagnoses to people and tell them what’s actually going on,” Murray said.
“How do we take knowledge from brain tissue and translate it into something measurable and say you have this or that condition?” Breakthroughs may be coming soon. “Americans will tell you in five years,” Murray continued. “They started a big biomarker blood study last year. But you never know.
In Auckland, ideally they would like to recruit a group of people with CTE symptoms and monitor them longer. If the Brain Bank can attract NZ$1 million (£475,000) a year in funding – whether from government, sporting bodies or private individuals – Curtis believes it will “make a huge difference” to many people. “Many parts of the rock face are being studied, but this is certainly cutting-edge research. [But] There appears to be a lack of funding across the board at the moment. This is politically challenging, in a way that makes it easier to study more complex diseases. If you were a funder, you might say: ‘Stop rugby.
Newsletter Promotion Post
However, there are some tiny glimmers there. Better head injury management, reduced contact in training and scientific advances can all help to some extent. “We probably already know that there’s definitely a danger zone beyond a certain point,” Curtis said. “You can’t get back on the field until that happens. It would also be an opportunity to provide supportive medications that could help the brain. or nutrient mixture.
Murray is also interested in ice hockey and women’s rugby – “Hockey has a reputation for being extremely tough, but we didn’t get into it until we were 15.” “There’s no reason to think women won’t get CTE. We’ve seen it.” She also cited extensive research in the United States that found the length of a player’s career was particularly important. “What matters is whether there’s a head injury.” So not necessarily the number of concussions, but all those head hits that were sub-concussive. If you’ve been playing rugby for 40 years, that’s probably your main source.
Also, did you know that the most damaging thing to the brain is not a direct impact from the front or back, but the stretching and twisting caused by an impact absorbed at a 45-degree angle? Or that studies of deaths among U.S. military personnel show that bomb blast exposure is associated with increased rates of dementia or suicide? Or will it take two months of in-depth analysis and double-checking to officially diagnose CTE in a deceased person’s brain?
But again, rugby still suffers from the same inherent problems as every other contact sport. “I love my sport,” Murray said. “I’m not taking anything away. But at the same time you do worry. You say, ‘What can we do to make this safer?’ “I think every sport has to think about this. Do we need a shorter season? How do we reduce the risk as much as possible? It’s not that banging your head a lot is necessarily good for you, it’s not brain surgery. You don’t want to scare people, but this is a big problem and we can take action now to have a positive impact in many ways.
so. That’s why Curtis believes managers awaiting the outcome of landmark UK court proceedings may be more proactive. “We think it’s prudent to be preemptive. We know a lot of people are affected. Knowing what we know about head injury exposure, we can make changes now and accelerate the science. I don’t think it has to be one of them 1. Good luck to New Zealand and England this Saturday, but modern rugby continues to struggle with bigger problems.
-
This is an extract from Breakdown, our weekly rugby league email. To register, simply visit this page and follow the instructions.
