Even Amateur Boxers Suffer Brain Damage

Thinking about taking up boxing? Fuggetaboutit. New research shows that even amateurs suffer brain damage. New Scientist reports that researchers at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden examined the cerebrospinal fluid of 14 amateur boxers.
Levels of neurofilament light (NFL), a marker for neuronal damage, were
four times as high in boxers after a fight as in healthy non-athletes,
and up to eight times as high in boxers who had taken more than 15
high-impact hits to the head. Levels took three months to return to
normal. Geezer is now wondering if researchers have the cause and effect in the correct order. Perhaps one has to be brain damaged to take up boxing.