Lewy body dementia and contact sports
People who played contact sports such as football, ice hockey and boxing, have a 6 times greater risk of developing the devastating brain condition of Lewy Body Dementia or LBD. While doing research to learn about brain injury in football players, scientists found that not only did the players suffer from brain damage, but they had a separate condition of Lewy Body Dementia. It causes problems with movement, thinking skills, sleep, depression, visual hallucinations and can lead to Parkinson’s disease. If a player has brain damage and goes on to have symptoms of Parkinson’s, Lewy Body Dementia should be considered. It’s scary out there in the world of contact sports, but not every athlete develops these conditions. Robin Williams had a diagnosis of LBD and it may have played a role in his suicide.
