SCIENCE FILE: An exploration of issues and trends affecting science, medicine and the environment. : More Brain Damage Found Among Amateur Boxers

A new study finds that amateur boxers in the British armed forces have suffered greater brain damage than non-boxing sportsmen. Researchers at the Royal Naval Hospital in Gosport found significantly greater abnormalities in blood flow in the brains of 34 boxers compared to those of 34 comparable servicemen.

The team also reported in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry that 41 boxers performed more poorly than 27 non-boxers on tests of reaction times, reasoning, perception and short-term memory. Those boxers who had the most bouts performed worst on the tests.