Study looks at the effect of blows to head
CHRIS Arreola (3641, 31 KOs) of Escondido, Calif., will go into Saturday night’s nationally televised fight against Travis Kauffman (301, 22 KOs) of Reading, Penn., with every intention of landing enough punches to render Kauffman unconscious. They meet in a heavyweight showdown scheduled for 10 rounds to be shown on NBC starting at 8:30 p.m. as part of a Premier Boxing Champions card from San Antonio.
Such is the nature of boxing where rendering concussions is part of the objective.
“We’re in the sport to make some money, but it’s a dangerous sport,” Arreola told The Post this week. “It’s one of the most dangerous sports there is.”
Arreola, 34, takes comfort that he’s part of a study being conducted at the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas. The Professional Fighters Brain Health Study began in 2011 and has involved more than 600 boxers and mixedmartial arts fighters with the aim of better understanding the longterm effects from repeated blows to the head.
The objective is to evaluate each participant once a year for at least four years. The evaluation consists of a brain MRI scan, computerized testing of cognitive function; speech sample analysis; blood samples for genetic testing, questionnaires regarding mood and impulsivity; demographic and prior sports and medical history; and a neurological examination. The participants also are categorized by the number of professional fights and years of fighting.
Dr. Charles Bernick, a leading authority on Alzheimer’s disease research, heads the study.
“When we went into this our goals were to improve our understanding of the long term effects of head trauma, whether from box ing or anything,” he said. “But more specifically are there any methods that we can track or measure accumulating damage to the brain and can we use that information to predict which fighters may be more likely to develop long term complications such as CTE?”
Al Haymon, the force behind PBC and a manager and adviser to a number of top boxers, has made a substantial financial contribution to support the study and encourages his fighters to participate. Other promotional companies such as Top Rank, Inc., and the UFC also support the study.
“We have to go every six months,” said Arreola, a Haymon fighter whose rugged style has made him a fan favorite. “I’m very lucky to be part of it because the longterm effects are a major concern of mine.”
The initial plan was for the study to last four years, but Bernick hopes there’s enough funding to track fighters for up to 10 years.
“What we really want to know is how the blows individuals are taking now will impact their future and at some point when do we intervene, whether it’s advising somebody to stop fighting or fighting less frequently,” Bernick said. “Our goal is: How do we make it safer and are there things we can learn from the study that can be applied as athletes prepare for a fight and maybe even regulations as far as licensing the fight itself ?”
Former Nevada Athletic Commission chief physician Margaret Goodman points out boxers perhaps sustain more damage while training than during actual fights.
“I think on too many occasions, they’re getting back in the gym too soon and sparring too soon after a knockout,” she said. “That’s what has never been agreed on. How long should an athlete take off ?”