Heading football and head impacts ‘change blood patterns in brain’

• Player study finds specific alterations' in microRNAs in brain
• Findings suggest changes may be used to detect brain injury

Repeated heading and accidental head impacts in football cause changes to blood patterns in the brain, potentially interfering with signalling pathways, according to a study of players in Norway.

The peer-reviewed research, published in the Brain Injury journal, is the latest item in a growing body of evidence pointing to the dangers of heading. It discovered specific alterations" in levels of microRNAs in the brain upon analysing blood samples from 89 professional players in the country's top flight.