Reversing brain damage in former NFL players: implications for traumatic brain injury and substance abuse rehabilitation.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Uncontrolled open-label case series with before-and-after testing
PubMed 21615001 · doi:10.1080/02791072.2011.566489
What was done
Thirty retired NFL players with documented brain damage and cognitive impairment participated in an open-label pragmatic clinical intervention lasting an average of six months at an outpatient neuropsychiatric clinic. The protocol included weight loss (if appropriate), fish oil (5.6 g/day), a high-potency multivitamin, and a brain-enhancement supplement containing ginkgo, vinpocetine, acetyl-L-carnitine, huperzine A, alpha-lipoic acid, and N-acetyl-cysteine. Outcomes were evaluated using the Microcog Assessment of Cognitive Functioning (corrected for practice effect) and brain SPECT imaging.
What was found
Statistically significant increases were reported across Microcog scores for attention, memory, reasoning, information processing speed, and accuracy. Group-level brain SPECT scans demonstrated increased brain perfusion, notably in the prefrontal cortex, parietal lobes, occipital lobes, anterior cingulate gyrus, and cerebellum. The abstract provides no specific numerical values, effect sizes, or p-values.
Why it matters
This study provides preliminary observational evidence that a multi-ingredient nutritional and lifestyle regimen may correlate with improvements in cognitive function and cerebral blood flow after sports-related head trauma.
Limits
The study is an uncontrolled, open-label trial with a small sample size (n=30) and no placebo or comparator group, leaving results vulnerable to placebo effects, regression to the mean, and observer bias. Because multiple supplements and lifestyle changes were implemented simultaneously, the independent effect of any single component cannot be determined.
Cited by
- supports Dr. Amen scanned and evaluated 300 NFL players in a study starting in 2009 and found high levels of brain damage.
- context Former NFL player Ed White lost 150 pounds participating in Dr. Daniel Amen's NFL weight loss group.