PARKINSON'S DISEASE NEWS

3rd August 2010 - New research

THE EFFECT OF BLOWS TO THE HEAD ON PARKINSON'S DISEASE

Movement Disorders [2010] Jul 28 [Epub ahead of print] (Lolekha P, Phanthumchinda K, Bhidayasiri R.) Complete abstract

Blows to the head are sometimes claimed to have been a cause of Parkinson's Disease. Boxing, with its frequent blows to the head is often believed to be a cause of Parkinsonism because of chronic repetitive head injury, with Muhammad Ali frequently, but very possibly wrongly, cited as an example. Even more extreme and frequent blows to the head occur in Kick Boxing, in which participants receive not only punches, but also kicks to the head. Kick Boxing is at its most extreme in Thailand, where it originated, as the sport of Muay Thai. As the blows are more powerful and the contests more frequent, Muay Thai tests the impact of blows to the head even more than boxing.

In order to assess the effect of blows to the head, this study determined the prevalence of Parkinson's Disease in retired Muay Thai boxers. Out of over 700 that responded, only 5 of them had Parkinson's Disease, which is not even 1% of boxers. So boxing, even in the extreme form found in Thailand, did not make Parkinson's Disease likely, nullifying the claim that boxing and blows to the head commonly cause Parkinson's Disease. Those Muay Thai boxers that had a large number of professional contests were found to be a bit more prone to developing Parkinson's Disease. So frequent blows to the head appear to cause an inclination to Parkinson's Disease rather than actually cause it. For more current news go to Parkinson's Disease News.

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Parkinson's Disease News details all significant new research, news reports, new books, and new resources concerning Parkinson's Disease and those medical disorders that often coincide with Parkinson's Disease. It is compiled from an analysis of  all newly published research, news reports, new clinical trials, all newly published books, and new web sites. A summary and analysis of the new research are provided,  as well as links to the complete abstracts and news reports