Conor McGregor has made an entire career out of pummeling and being pummeled in the UFC octagon, but a new scientific report suggests that he and other UFC fighters could be at a greater risk of dementia.
Recently, McGregor took on Floyd Mayweather in a very high-profile boxing match, where both men delivered some hard blows but Mayweather ultimately won the fight after the ref stopped and called it.
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McGregor pocketed an estimated $40 million for that fight, but scientists are now saying that those same jabs that rake in the payday cah are also causing a build up of proteins in the brains of the fighters.
According to a story by the Daily Mail, the toxic clumps that accumulate in the brain are a notable attribute of Dementia and are considered to be the cause of memory loss in the elderly.
While it has never been officially stated, for many years experts have believed that there was a connection between the hits boxers take to their heads and the debilitating disease.
Scroll down to read more about the dementia study and how it could affect UFC fighters.
How The Study Was Done
Over the course of the study, a team of neurologists researched and measured two different biological markers of brain injury in over 400 study participants.
More than half of the participants were currently active MMA fighters and boxers. The rest of the participants were retired fighters and ordinary adults.
The neurologists took blood samples from the volunteers and used those samples to measure the proteins. One is called tau, and the other is called neurofilament light chain.
Tau is said to accumulate when brain damage occurs. It is a natural occurrence and appears in numerous dementia patients.
Neurofilament light chain is also thought to be a possible blood marker of dementia.
What Was Discovered
The study researchers found that active fighters displayed a higher level of both proteins than the other groups being surveyed.
It was also discovered that the more sparring a fighter did in a two week period before having their blood drawn the higher the levels were.
Fighters with higher levels of tau had, on average, a 7% smaller thalamus, which is located in the center of the human brain and regulates things like language, alertness, sleep, consciousness, and cognitive function.
Dr. Charles Bernick, the study’s lead author, shared some thoughts on the findings.
“Our study found that higher levels of both proteins may be associated with repetitive head trauma,” Bernick said.
This new research supports previous studies that found boxers manifesting chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) — which can cause dementia.
What Experts Are Saying
As one would imagine, these new findings have led many experts to speak out and share their thoughts.
“This is an interesting study concerning what I have seen in my clinical involvement with footballers and boxers, who are subject to repeated blows to the head, and who in older age go on to develop neurological conditions which can include dementia,” said Dr. Hilda Hayo, CEO of Dementia UK.
The director of research at the Alzheimer’s Society, Dr. Doug Brown, also shared some thoughts.
“Researchers are only just starting to untangle the links between sports-related head injuries, damage to the brain, and risk of dementia,” Brown said.
Ultimately, the new research findings, while fascinating, are still very preliminary and much more is needed in order to effectively find ways of battling the brain disease.
