The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is to launch a research project comparing the brain health of retired athletes from collision and non-collision sports.
Chief Medical Officer at the AIS, Dr David Hughes said The Concussion and Brain Health project 2021-24 would improve the understanding of long-term brain health of retired elite athletes.
Dr Hughes said the concussion Project would begin this year and comprised two major components.
“The AIS will work with medical experts and researchers to update the Concussion in Sport Australia: Position Statement, a concussion management resource launched in 2019 and endorsed by more than 50 leading medical and sporting organisations,” Dr Hughes said.
“Additionally, the AIS is collaborating with the Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI), University of Newcastle and University of Canberra on a research program that will assess the brain health of retired elite level athletes,” he said.
“This Project will evaluate several domains of brain health in retired elite athletes including neuropsychological assessment, brain imaging, objective somatosensory assessment and potential involvement in a brain donor program.”
Dr Hughes said Associate Professor of HMRI and the University of Newcastle, Andrew Gardner had been leading one of the largest and most comprehensive brain health research programs for retired athletes in the world, which involved evaluations of more than 150 retired elite level collision sport players.
He said the AIS collaboration with HMRI, The University of Newcastle and University of Canberra would recruit a control group of retired non-collision elite athletes to progress the research program.
“We are aiming to collect data on the brain health of more than 40 retired athletes from non-collision sports every year,” he said.
“This study is available to former elite level men and women athletes who were not involved in contact or collision sport,” Dr Hughes said.
