Jeff Astle's widow welcomes new study into football's dementia links

The study by Glasgow University aims to recruit 120 middle-aged, former professional footballers as part of a study investigating possible ways to reduce dementia risk among such ex-players.

The £1.3 million BrainHope project will build on the discoveries of the Field study in 2019 which found that professional footballers were three-and-a-half times more likely to die of neurodegenerative disease than age-matched members of the general population.

The four-year study will use brain imaging and a range of tests to compare brain health in mid-life former footballers to general population control subjects already recruited to the Prevent Dementia study.

Laraine Astle, whose husband Jeff died in 2001 aged 58 after years of suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), said it was marvellous news to hear about the study and urged former players to get involved.

Jeff Astle, known as 'the King' to Albion fans, scored 174 goals for the club and was capped by England. His death prompted further investigation into the links between heading a football and neurodegenerative conditions.

Laraine said: "I think it's a brilliant idea and will be really good to have something, anything that can help to put the brakes on dementia in footballers and in anyone, as I think everyone knows someone who has gone through this.

"I think people look back and think about what it was and how nothing was ever done and it's raced through footballers and is actually quite frightening.

"Jeff wasn't the first and, sadly, he won't be the last and after we found out what had happened from the study by the FA, it gave us no satisfaction, but I hope this can make a real difference and it has the approval of the whole Astle family."

Researchers will also explore whether any differences in brain health among footballers might benefit from management of known dementia risk factors designed to try and reduce their risk.

The study will be led by the University of Glasgow, in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh, Imperial College London and the wider PREVENT Dementia research collaborators.

Professor Willie Stewart, BrainHope lead, consultant neuropathologist and honorary Professor at the University of Glasgow, said: "This is an incredibly important study, and we are grateful to the Football Association (FA) and FIFA for their support to allow it to proceed.

"Our findings from the Field study show there is reason to worry about lifelong brain health in former footballers.

"BrainHope is designed to identify tests that might detect problems early on and, more importantly, possible ways to try and reduce dementia risk for former footballers."

The BrainHope study will recruit 120 former professional footballers aged 40-59 years to compare against members of the general population as controls.

The effectiveness of Brain Health Clinic management will then be explored within the footballer subjects, with the brain scans and tests repeated again after two years.

Former professional football players interested in participating in the research are asked to contact preventdementia.co.uk/prevent-sports.