News Neuroscience

Football and hockey players aren’t doomed to suffer brain damage

Tests on former pro athletes’ brains shows the tissues in better shape than expected

pro football players

NO HEAD START  For a small group of former Buffalo Bills football players and Buffalo Sabre hockey players, a career full of head slams didn’t inevitably lead to early dementia, a new study found.    

John Green/AgencyCal Sport Media/Alamy

By Laura Sanders

- More than 2 years ago

A career of hard hits to the head doesn’t inevitably lead to brain decline, a small study of former football and hockey pros suggests.