Sunday, July 1, 2007

Concussion and Dementia, continued...

You have likely heard of Chris benoit, the wrestler who killed himself and his family. I was wondering how long it would take to make the "concussion->dementia->depression->suicide" claim, but it appears to have happened. It seems that despite a lack of concussion history, Benoit's "signature move" was to dive off the top ropes of the wrestling ring and land head-first on his opponent:
Benoit's signature move was an aerial leap off the top of the ring post, which sent him airborne toward his opponent, who invariably was lying on the mat. It was designed to look as if he were spearing his rival. But Benoit pulled up just before impact, absorbing most of the stress himself. That caused his neck to become so fragile that he underwent surgery in 2001 to fuse his vertebrae. It kept him out of wrestling for nearly a year.
According to this article:
Researchers involved with the study of brain trauma in deceased NFL players are seeking permission to look at Benoit's brain to try to learn whether head trauma might have played a role in Benoit's condition.