ArticleBritish journal of sports medicine2007
No neurochemical evidence for brain injury caused by heading in soccer.
Article in British journal of sports medicine, 2007. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Potential Blood-based Biomarkers for Concussion.Sports medicine and arthroscopy review · 2016Pooled it
- Systematic review of clinical studies examining biomarkers of brain injury in athletes after sports-related concussion.Journal of neurotrauma · 2015Pooled it
- A systematic review of the biomarker S100B: implications for sport-related concussion management.Journal of athletic trainingPooled it
- Cognitive and Behavioral Functioning in Female Former Soccer Players: Results from the Head Impact and Trauma Surveillance Study (HITSS).Brain sciences · 2026Article
- Annual level changes of serum neuronal and glial biomarkers in a German professional football club.Journal of neurology · 2025Article
- The Use of Biofluid Markers to Evaluate the Consequences of Sport-Related Subconcussive Head Impact Exposure: A Scoping Review.Sports medicine - open · 2024Article
- Cerebral and cognitive modifications in retired professional soccer players: TC-FOOT protocol, a transverse analytical study.BMJ open · 2022Article
- Serum neurofilament light in professional soccer players: goal on safety.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2022Article
- Assessment of Blood Biomarker Profile After Acute Concussion During Combative Training Among US Military Cadets: A Prospective Study From the NCAA and US Department of Defense CARE Consortium.JAMA network open · 2021Article
- Concussion in soccer: a comprehensive review of the literature.Concussion (London, England) · 2020Review
- Neurofilaments: The C-Reactive Protein of Neurology.Brain sciences · 2020Review
- A Comprehensive Review of Experimental Rodent Models of Repeated Blast TBI.Frontiers in neurology · 2019Review
- No Evidence of Association Between Soccer Heading and Cognitive Performance in Professional Soccer Players: Cross-Sectional Results.Frontiers in neurology · 2019Article
- Concussion BASICS II: Baseline serum biomarkers, head impact exposure, and clinical measures.Neurology · 2018Observational
- Heading in soccer increases serum neurofilament light protein and SCAT3 symptom metrics.BMJ open sport & exercise medicine · 2018Article
- Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Presenting as Alzheimer's Disease in a Retired Soccer Player.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2016Article
- Effects of Soccer Heading on Brain Structure and Function.Frontiers in neurology · 2016Review
- S100B as a marker for brain damage and blood-brain barrier disruption following exercise.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2014Review
- The impact of increased blood lactate on serum S100B and prolactin concentrations in male adult athletes.European journal of applied physiology · 2013Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe possible injurious effect to the brain of heading in soccer is a matter of discussion.
objectiveTo determine whether standardised headings in soccer are associated with increased levels of biochemical markers for neuronal injury in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum.
methods23 male amateur soccer players took part in a heading training session involving heading a ball kicked from a distance of 30 m at least 10 m forward. Ten players performed 10 and 13 players performed 20 approved headings. The players underwent lumbar puncture and serum sampling 7-10 days after the headings. The study also included 10 healthy male non-athletic control subjects. CSF was analysed for neurofilament light protein, total tau, glial fibrillary acidic protein, S-100B and albumin concentrations. Serum was analysed for S-100B and albumin.
resultsNone of the biomarker levels were abnormal and there were no significant differences between any of the three groups, except for a slightly increased CSF S-100B concentration in controls compared with headers. Biomarker levels did not correlate with the number of headings performed.
conclusionRepeated low-severity head impacts due to heading in soccer are not associated with any neurochemical signs of injury to the brain.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.