Football could contribute to strokes in adolescents

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-12/sp-fcc120811.php

Public release date: 8-Dec-2011
Contact: Ashley Loar
Football could contribute to strokes in adolescents
New study looks at potential causes to stroke after football injury

Los Angeles, CA (DECEMBER 8, 2011) Young football players may be at higher risk for stroke, according to a new study released in Journal of Child Neurology (JCN), published by SAGE.

Researchers Dr. Jared R. Brosch and Dr. Meredith R. Golomb looked at various case studies of football players in their teens that suffered a stroke and found some potential causes for strokes in young football athletes. Some of those potential risks include:

an increase of hyperventilation,
repeated neurological injury,
use of anabolic steroids,
use of highly caffeinated energy drinks
an increase in obesity of young players

The authors point out the increase in obesity presents a two-fold risk as it not only increases the force of impacts among the players, but also the likelihood for other stroke risk factors such as hypertension.

"Two of our subjects had mild hypertension, but were too young to have had the many years of exposure that would lead to chronic vascular injury," wrote the researchers.

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