In the past, athletes involved in high-impact sports such as boxing or football would refer to the periods their brains went dim as "punch drunk." They'd find themselves thinking slowly, forgetting directions, suffering headaches. Now researchers think the symptoms may be indicative of a greater problem: the rare disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Athletes may not be the only victims— soldiers are also vulnerable. Joining The Takeaway with more is Chris Nowinski, director of the Sports Legacy Institute, a Boston-based nonprofit that has partnered with Boston University to study the long term affects of brain injuries like concussions on athletes and soldiers.
Read more about the repercussions of brain injuries in today's New York Times article, A Chance for Clues to Brain Injury in Combat Blasts.
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