Your health: Heading a soccer ball causes instant brain changes

Heading soccer ball causes brain changes

Routine heading of a soccer ball can cause damage to brain structure and function, according to a new study from the United Kingdom that is the first to detect direct neurological changes by impacts too minor to cause a concussion, The Washington Post reports.

The research, published last week in EBioMedicine, studied brain changes among amateur players, ages 19 to 25, who headed machine-projected soccer balls at speeds modeling a typical practice. Though the results seen were temporary, they trigger questions about possible cumulative damage done over time.

"(A)lthough the magnitude of the acute changes observed was small," the researchers note, "it is the presence of the effect that is of interest. This measure was previously shown to be altered in confirmed concussion, but the acute changes … following the sub-concussive impact of football heading raise concerns that this practice, routine in soccer, may affect brain health."

Changes in motor response and memory were observed in the five women and 14 men participating in the study. Each was asked to perform a rotational header - redirecting the soccer ball - 20 consecutive times during 10-minute sessions. The researchers found that immediately following these sessions, subjects' error scores on both short- and long-term memory tests were significantly higher than subjects' baseline performances.

Even after just a single session of heading, memory-test performance was reduced by as much as 67 percent, though the alterations appeared to clear within 24 hours. The researchers caution against taking this temporary disruption as a sign of no long-term damage.

Girls and autism: It can be subtle, or absent

Think autism and an image of an awkward boy typically emerges. The developmental disorder is at least four times more common in boys, but scientists taking a closer look are finding some gender-based surprises: Many girls with autism have social skills that can mask the condition. And some girls are born without autism despite the same genetic mutations seen in boys with the condition, The Associated Press reports.

The gender effect is a hot topic in autism research and one that could lead to new ways of diagnosing and treating a condition that affects at least 1 in 68 U.S. children.

Better understanding of gender's role is key to helping the most people, said Kevin Pelphrey, an autism researcher at George Washington University. "Autism may not be the same thing in boys and girls."

Brain imaging suggests there may be an additional explanation for why many girls with autism have more subtle symptoms, Pelphrey said.

"The surprising thing we are finding is that even in girls who clearly have autism," brain regions involved in social behavior that are normally affected are less severely impaired, he said.

Recent studies on autism-linked genes have found another gender difference.

Girls can have the same kinds of genetic mutations seen in boys with autism, "and even need to have twice as many mutations on average to actually manifest with autism," said Joseph Buxbaum, director of an autism center at Mount Sinai medical school in New York City.

Buxbaum is among researchers trying to identify a "protective factor" that may explain how some girls at genetic risk remain unaffected, perhaps a protein or other biological marker that could be turned into a drug or other therapy to treat or even prevent autism.

That possibility is likely a long way off, but Pelphrey said this line of research has prompted excitement among autism scientists.

There's no autism blood test. It's diagnosed by observing behavior and some experts say gender-based differences highlight a need to develop different ways to evaluate boys and girls.

Autism screening is recommended for all kids at age 18 months and 2 years. But screening tools typically are based on research in autistic boys, said Rachel Loftin, clinical director of an autism center at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

Government data show that all forms of autism - mild to severe - are more common in boys and that the average age at diagnosis is 4 years in boys and girls. But Loftin said anecdotal evidence suggests a two-year lag time in diagnosis for girls, especially those with mild cases. And she suspects many cases are missed or misdiagnosed. That means a delay in early intensive behavior therapy that is the main treatment for autism.

Some girls manage to camouflage symptoms until school pressures to fit in become overwhelming, delaying diagnosis until around age 8 or 9, said Alycia Halladay, chief science officer at the Autism Science Foundation, a nonprofit educational and research-funding group.

Buxbaum, the Mount Sinai researcher, is seeking to enroll hundreds of families with autistic sons but unaffected daughters in a study looking for genetic clues and protective factors. Funded by the Autism Science Foundation, the Autism Sisters Project began last year with the goal of building a big database that other scientists can use. Girls and their families visit the New York lab to give saliva samples for DNA analysis and efforts are underway to expand DNA collection to other sites.