A groundbreaking study by Scots scientists will investigate possible ways to reduce dementia risk in former professional footballers.
The £1.3million, four-year BrainHOPE initiative – led by experts at the universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh – will compare brain health in ex-footballers to those in the general population.
Fifa and BrainHOPE plan to recruit 120 former pro players aged between 40 and 59 to compare against 700 from general population controls.
The effectiveness of the Brain Health Clinic will then be explored with footballer volunteers, with scans and tests carried out to find out if the condition can be tackled.
A number of high-profile Scots players have already died or are battling dementia and Alzheimer’s.
Former national team manager Ally MacLeod was 72 when it claimed his life in 2004.
Ex-Dundee United defender Frank Kopel raised the profile of the disorder when he was diagnosed at 59. He died six years later.
Celtic have lost three Lisbon Lions to the condition – captain Billy McNeill, Stevie Chalmers and Bertie Auld.
Ex-Leeds United, Manchester United and Scotland defender Gordon McQueen was diagnosed just over a year ago and, six months later, Denis Law – one of Scotland’s greatest-ever players – was diagnosed with both vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s.
The study builds on Glasgow University’s FIELD study, which found the risk of dementia and related disorders among ex-pro
footballers was about three-and-a-half times higher than expected.
BrainHOPE lead Willie Stewart – a consultant neuropathologist and honorary professor at Glasgow University – said: “This is an incredibly important study and we’re grateful to the Football Association [in England] and Fifa for their support to allow it to proceed.
“Our findings from the FIELD study show there is reason to worry about lifelong brain health in ex-footballers.
BrainHOPE is designed to identify tests that might detect problems early on and, more importantly, possible ways to try and reduce dementia risk for former footballers.”
BrainHOPE co-lead Prof Craig Ritchie, director of Edinburgh Dementia Prevention at Edinburgh University and lead on the PREVENT Dementia Programme, added: “This is such an important study and solidifies an exceptionally strong academic collaboration.
“This work will help us understand in detail the association between playing football and brain health and, in doing so, have a great impact on the wellbeing of current and retired players.”
● Ex-pro footballers interested in participating in the research should go to preventdementia.co.uk/prevent-sports
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