Play Hard, Die Young: Football Dementia, Depression, and Death

Science News, March 22, 2008

PLAY HARD, DIE YOUNG: Football Dementia, Depression, and Death BENNET OMALU

One concussion per game--that's the average for a typical season of the National Football League. In this book, neuropathologist Omalu makes the case that "gridiron dementia" is a real condition. It could explain why former NFL players are up to five times as likely as their fans to have depression and why some end up homeless, Omalu suggests. His autopsies of deceased NFL players revealed brain damage consistent with repeated blows. Interviews with NFL players add perspective. One player is quoted as saying he had lost count of his on-field concussions after suffering 15 of them. "There may be a threshold for the number or severity of concussions each football player's brain cells may tolerate," Omalu writes. This sad tale documents suicide, drug abuse, and a list of symptoms attributable to gridiron dementia that include headaches, insomnia, memory loss, hyperactivity, violence, suicidal thoughts, and general deterioration of cognitive and social function. Neo-Forenxis Books, 2008, 161 p., paperback, $15.95.

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