The fact that impacts to the head in sports like football, soccer and boxing can lead to long-lasting brain changes, and in the worst cases, brain degeneration, is not up for debate anymore. There’s also consensus that even the smaller hits can accrue over time and lead to damage. But recently, research has begun to suggest that there may be hope of detecting problems in the brain before it’s too late. Two new studies highlight the fact that very early and subtle changes in the brain may be detectable with newer imaging techniques. This is very good news, since it hints that early markers of sports-related brain damage may be possible—when there’s still time to do something about it.
