(NewsNation) — In the wake of legendary NFL quarterback Brett Favre’s revelation of being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, the spotlight is once more on the relationship between contact sports and brain injuries.
Favre, 54, has spoken previously about concussions he endured throughout his football career but has said he likely would not change much.
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tangovailoa could be a modern-day victim of perpetual brain injuries with his long-term NFL future unclear after suffering a third confirmed concussion since 2021 earlier this month.
Dr. Idries Abdur-Rahman and Dr. Jamil Abdur-Rahman joined “Morning in America” on Sunday to discuss the connection between sports and head trauma.
“When we think of concussions, we think of something that happens acutely, right? But what happens is, when you have this chronic trauma, which a lot of football players do, and not just football players, but rugby players, people in contact sports,” Dr. Idries said.
“You get this deposition of these proteins in the brain, and overall, you end up getting shrinking of the brain… We’re going to see more Parkinson’s, more dementia, more depression, more anxiety. You see a ton of mood disorders in people who have concussions frequently,” he added.
While Parkison’s sufferers are commonly thought to have tremors, there are other widespread symptoms.
“People with Parkinson’s may feel forgetful; they have a hard time concentrating,” Dr. Jamil said. “You can see changes in sleeping patterns, you can also see changes in mood.
“In terms of treatments, there are a lot of medications that basically work to down-regulate the activity of the portions of the brain that are too active in Parkinson’s.
“While we’re able to improve the quality of life for a certain amount of time, you do still see that downward track as the disease progresses.”