Brain concussion - shake it and you break it | Steven Laureys | TEDxLiège
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0:30 - 0:32(Distorted voice) I love boxing.
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0:33 - 0:35I love boxing.
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0:35 - 0:39But today, I'm here as a neurologist,
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0:39 - 0:46and that "T" stands
for traumatic brain injury. -
0:46 - 0:52And if there is one thing
I'd like you to remember of this talk, -
0:52 - 0:53that's this:
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0:53 - 0:58when we're talking about the brain,
talking about the brain, you should know -
0:58 - 1:03that when you shake it, you break it.
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1:04 - 1:11And I'm going to talk
about blows to the head, concussions. -
1:11 - 1:14And that has an impact, years later,
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1:14 - 1:21where these athletes develop
a chronic progressive brain disease. -
1:22 - 1:26Now, let's start the slides,
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1:27 - 1:29and let me share
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1:31 - 1:36some of my childhood memories.
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1:38 - 1:41When I was a little boy,
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1:41 - 1:47I loved watching sports on television -
boxing - with my daddy. -
1:47 - 1:49Now, he was a heavy smoker.
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1:49 - 1:52We had a black and white
television screen, -
1:52 - 1:55and sometimes I'd barely see the screen
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1:55 - 2:00because it was a small
living room full of smoke. -
2:00 - 2:04And I remember one of those fights.
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2:04 - 2:071978.
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2:07 - 2:09We were watching our hero,
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2:09 - 2:13the greatest, Muhammad Ali.
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2:13 - 2:14Our rebel.
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2:15 - 2:19I don't know if anyone here
remembers this fight, -
2:19 - 2:21the historical one against Leon Spinks.
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2:22 - 2:26Who won this fight? Las Vegas?
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2:27 - 2:29Come on!
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2:30 - 2:32Muhammad Ali.
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2:32 - 2:35Of course! He always won!
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2:35 - 2:38"Float like a butterfly,
sting like a bee." -
2:39 - 2:40Now, this was a special fight
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2:40 - 2:44because it would be
the last one he'd ever win. -
2:45 - 2:50And I remember, again,
watching television with my daddy, -
2:50 - 2:541996 Olympics.
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2:54 - 2:55You remember that?
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2:56 - 3:00By that time, I was a medical student.
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3:00 - 3:01And I was shocked.
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3:01 - 3:04I think everybody who remembers Ali
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3:04 - 3:09trying to light that Olympic flame.
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3:09 - 3:11The butterfly was broken.
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3:12 - 3:14Because his brain was broken.
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3:15 - 3:19He was so much worse, 2012,
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3:19 - 3:22again, the opening
of the Olympics, London. -
3:23 - 3:26He could no longer walk without help.
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3:26 - 3:28He couldn't talk.
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3:30 - 3:35I watched that without my dad,
who died from lung cancer, -
3:36 - 3:41and I think it's difficult to be certain
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3:41 - 3:46that my dad would still be here,
would not have gotten lung cancer, -
3:46 - 3:49if he wouldn't have smoked
so many cigarettes. -
3:51 - 3:57And I think it's hard to be sure
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3:57 - 3:59that Muhammad Ali
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3:59 - 4:03would not have developed
Parkinson's syndrome, -
4:03 - 4:07if he wouldn't have taken
so many blows to the head. -
4:07 - 4:11But again, it's highly probable.
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4:11 - 4:15And of course, we know
boxing is a dangerous sport. -
4:17 - 4:20There's - you see here -
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4:20 - 4:21boxers dying in the ring.
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4:21 - 4:26You see, every 10 years,
how many of these young athletes die. -
4:28 - 4:30And we did something about it, right?
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4:30 - 4:34You see, in the 1920s,
there was nearly 200. -
4:34 - 4:4010 years, dying, and we changed the rules,
made better equipment. -
4:40 - 4:43So the number of deaths went down,
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4:43 - 4:47but still, see now, about every 2 months
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4:47 - 4:50somewhere in the ring a boxer dies.
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4:52 - 4:56The first time I was
personally involved in this, -
4:56 - 4:57I remember,
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4:57 - 5:00at the University Hospital here in Liège
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5:00 - 5:03as a neurologist, seeing this father.
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5:03 - 5:04He was desperate.
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5:04 - 5:06He came to see me, wanted to tell
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5:06 - 5:08because his son, he was very proud -
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5:08 - 5:11his son was strong, was a great athlete.
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5:11 - 5:14He was an international
champion, kickboxing. -
5:14 - 5:19He won fight after fight
until that last fight -
5:19 - 5:22where he received
the blow to the head so bad, -
5:24 - 5:27he not only lost the fight,
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5:27 - 5:28but when I saw him -
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5:28 - 5:35and I think it's easy to see here
which is the brain from the fighter -
5:35 - 5:37and which is the normal brain, right?
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5:37 - 5:41So what you see here, it's all blue:
we're looking at brain activity. -
5:41 - 5:43So we basically inject sugar.
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5:43 - 5:48You should look all red and yellow -
very high activity, I hope. -
5:49 - 5:51There the lights went out. It's all blue.
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5:51 - 5:54What I can tell you -
we are now eight years later - -
5:54 - 5:56he will never fight again,
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5:56 - 5:59he will never even be
thinking about fighting, -
5:59 - 6:01he will not be thinking about anything.
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6:02 - 6:06That's something very visible:
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6:06 - 6:10the direct brain damage, the knockouts,
in this case, the coma. -
6:10 - 6:16But what I want to talk about
is something much more invisible -
6:17 - 6:19and yet very real:
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6:19 - 6:21the indirect effects,
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6:21 - 6:24the chronic brain disease
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6:24 - 6:29that you can develop
when you receive blows to the head. -
6:29 - 6:32And we know that -
this is not something new. -
6:32 - 6:35Here a paper, 1928.
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6:35 - 6:40Doctor Martin publishing in the journal
of the American Medical Association. -
6:40 - 6:42The title is "Punch-Drunk Syndrome."
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6:42 - 6:43Punches to the head,
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6:43 - 6:46and afterwards, these boxers
are like they had too many drinks. -
6:46 - 6:49What he did, you see 23 boxers,
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6:49 - 6:52and he looked at what
became of them, years later. -
6:52 - 6:54You can read it.
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6:54 - 6:57Parkinson was already known, 1928.
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6:57 - 6:59Drags the leg, bad shape,
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7:00 - 7:02talks slow.
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7:02 - 7:04Four in the asylum, OK?
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7:04 - 7:06So we can't say we don't know this.
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7:07 - 7:11Let me show you what's inside here:
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7:12 - 7:15actually a real brain.
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7:18 - 7:21This is what yours look like.
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7:21 - 7:23Let's look at a boxer's brain.
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7:23 - 7:28OK, again, don't have to show
which is the boxer's brain. -
7:28 - 7:31This is an athlete who had a career.
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7:32 - 7:36Years later, you see the consequences.
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7:37 - 7:41This looks like a brain
of somebody a hundred years old. -
7:41 - 7:44It's very small, like a demented elderly.
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7:44 - 7:47Let's look inside, OK?
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7:47 - 7:52We call this "pugilistic dementia,"
from the Latin, or actually Greek "fists," -
7:52 - 7:54fighting, OK?
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7:54 - 7:57Blows to head can make you demented.
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7:57 - 7:59And we know what's going on.
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7:59 - 8:00There's different stages.
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8:00 - 8:02You see here stage 1 and 2 and 3.
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8:02 - 8:05We see slices of the brain.
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8:05 - 8:09And the brown spots,
that's where there is a disease. -
8:09 - 8:12Actually, it's an abnormal protein,
it's toxic for the brain. -
8:12 - 8:15And it goes on with time,
and we have no cure. -
8:15 - 8:16Let's look at Stage 3.
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8:16 - 8:21That red circle is actually
an important part of your brain; -
8:21 - 8:22it's here in the temporal lobe,
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8:22 - 8:24and that's important for emotions.
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8:25 - 8:29So these boxers,
years later, decades later, -
8:29 - 8:32they show personality changes,
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8:32 - 8:34mood swings.
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8:34 - 8:36They can become depressed
and commit suicide. -
8:36 - 8:37We know why.
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8:37 - 8:38That's that red circle.
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8:38 - 8:40This region, it's all black,
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8:40 - 8:43there's a lot of abnormal cells there -
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8:43 - 8:46stage 4, it's all brown,
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8:46 - 8:49it's a full-blown dementia.
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8:49 - 8:53We know it, and we should do
something about it. -
8:53 - 8:56And one could say, well,
you know, Muhammad Ali, -
8:56 - 8:59maybe he would have been a gardener,
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8:59 - 9:03and still, you know,
develop Parkinson's disease. -
9:05 - 9:08Here is scientific evidence.
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9:08 - 9:1222 scientific studies.
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9:13 - 9:14You see those red dots?
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9:14 - 9:16When they're on the right,
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9:16 - 9:19it means that this study showed a link
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9:20 - 9:26between brain concussion and trembling,
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9:26 - 9:27this degenerative disease.
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9:28 - 9:29It's clear.
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9:29 - 9:31There's like only three
where there is no link. -
9:33 - 9:37You shake it, and you break it, OK?
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9:37 - 9:41And we have no cure for these diseases.
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9:41 - 9:42Another study.
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9:44 - 9:49See, the number of professional fights -
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9:49 - 9:5010, 20, 30 -
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9:51 - 9:53and then in blue, you have boxers' brains,
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9:53 - 9:54and in red;
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9:54 - 9:56it's a big cohort.
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9:56 - 9:5990 over 90 under 30 - mixed martial arts.
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9:59 - 10:04You see, the more fights they have,
the smaller their brains become. -
10:05 - 10:09So, should we promote a sport
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10:10 - 10:13where the aim of the game
is to hit the other's brain? -
10:15 - 10:17We should think about this.
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10:17 - 10:20And I think
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10:22 - 10:25there is three things we should do.
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10:26 - 10:31That's change the rules to make it safer
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10:31 - 10:35and improve the equipment
to make it safer. -
10:35 - 10:37That's what I show here.
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10:38 - 10:40In 1984,
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10:41 - 10:44the International
Olympics Committee decided -
10:44 - 10:49boxers at the games
should wear helmets, OK? -
10:50 - 10:53I don't know if you know
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10:53 - 10:57but in Rio, the Olympics,
they will be boxing without a helmet. -
10:58 - 11:01They decided, you know,
for male boxers, no longer necessary. -
11:02 - 11:07As a neurologist, I know
and the evidence shows -
11:07 - 11:11this is a bad, a sad decision.
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11:16 - 11:22So what's happening, actually,
in the brain, this fragile organ, -
11:22 - 11:25when you take a blow to the head?
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11:25 - 11:27There's acceleration injuries.
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11:27 - 11:32Look at here, Joe Frazier
hitting the fist of Muhammad Ali. -
11:32 - 11:34These are huge forces.
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11:34 - 11:40This is like you driving in your car,
hitting a concrete wall, OK? -
11:40 - 11:43You can have your safety belt,
you can have an airbag; -
11:43 - 11:45there is no zero risk here.
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11:45 - 11:48Actually, this is not only true for boxing
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11:48 - 11:53or those sports where the aim of the game
is to hit the other's brain. -
11:53 - 11:57It's also football, ice hockey,
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11:57 - 12:01and we see rugby players
here at University Hospital in Liège, -
12:01 - 12:03where head-to-head contact.
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12:03 - 12:04That's not good,
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12:04 - 12:06and a helmet can protect you.
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12:06 - 12:08It's much harder for these helmets
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12:08 - 12:11to protect you
from those rotational forces. -
12:11 - 12:14You remember Rumble in the Jungle -
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12:14 - 12:16big fight in Kinshasa against Foreman?
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12:18 - 12:24Can you imagine this blow
Foreman receives to the chin? -
12:25 - 12:26His brain is twisted.
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12:26 - 12:32I can tell you, he lost connections
at that very moment. -
12:32 - 12:36And that's very hard
for a helmet to compensate for. -
12:37 - 12:42So we should change the rules,
improve the equipment, -
12:42 - 12:46and we should monitor these athletes,
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12:46 - 12:47have surveillance.
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12:50 - 12:55At the University Hospital here in Liège,
we see these young rugby players, -
12:55 - 12:58and when they have
a knockout, a concussion, -
12:59 - 13:00we'll see them, we'll test them,
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13:00 - 13:04and we can look inside their brain,
that's what you see here. -
13:04 - 13:09And you basically see
these colors here are like the branches. -
13:09 - 13:11You see the fragility, OK?
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13:11 - 13:12Shake it, and you break it.
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13:12 - 13:13That's not a good idea.
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13:13 - 13:19We can see those damages and protect them
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13:19 - 13:25from later on developing
these progressive degenerative diseases. -
13:29 - 13:33So let me end by citing again
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13:33 - 13:37my hero rebel, Muhammad Ali,
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13:37 - 13:38when he says,
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13:39 - 13:42"I think boxing is dangerous.
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13:42 - 13:45The brain's a delicate thing."
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13:45 - 13:48And I'd like to add to that
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13:48 - 13:54that we can and we should
make boxing less dangerous. -
13:56 - 14:00Isn't it strange that about the rules
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14:00 - 14:05you can't hit below the belt, right?
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14:05 - 14:10You hit the head, you get points.
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14:10 - 14:12We should change that, and we can.
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14:12 - 14:15Just as you get penalty points
when you hit below the belt, -
14:15 - 14:17you get penalties when you hit the head.
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14:17 - 14:19Just hit the body;
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14:19 - 14:21keep the sport but change the rules.
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14:23 - 14:26Next, isn't it strange
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14:26 - 14:31that we're worried and we protect -
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14:32 - 14:37it's mandatory to fight
all the [inaudible] with protection? -
14:37 - 14:39(Three knocks)
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14:39 - 14:41(Laughter)
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14:41 - 14:42I have one.
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14:42 - 14:43(Laughter)
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14:44 - 14:46And we protect your teeth,
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14:46 - 14:48and we don't seem to care
about the brains? -
14:49 - 14:51Now, these are important.
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14:51 - 14:52(Laughter)
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14:52 - 14:55But it's way less fun without a brain.
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14:55 - 14:58(Laughter)
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14:58 - 15:00(Applause)
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15:05 - 15:08So, we know this disease.
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15:08 - 15:13It's not about the direct effect,
the knockouts, people dying. -
15:13 - 15:19We should try to avoid
this chronic disease -
15:20 - 15:23where we have no cure,
so we need to prevent it. -
15:23 - 15:27Change the rules, better protection
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15:28 - 15:30and better surveillance.
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15:30 - 15:35Because we don't want
our children's children -
15:35 - 15:37to watch sports, to do sports -
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15:37 - 15:40well, we hope they will not be smoking -
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15:40 - 15:46and also, they won't be exposed to sports
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15:46 - 15:49where the aim of the game
is to damage the other's brain. -
15:49 - 15:52We don't want to go back to Roman times,
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15:52 - 15:56you know, looking at boxing gladiators
killing each other. -
15:56 - 15:58We don't want no future
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15:58 - 16:03with "Hunger Game"-like problems.
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16:04 - 16:11We can and we should make sport
healthy and safe for body and mind. -
16:12 - 16:13Thank you.
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16:13 - 16:15(Applause)
- Title:
- Brain concussion - shake it and you break it | Steven Laureys | TEDxLiège
- Description:
-
Steven Laureys MD Ph.D., is director of the Coma Science Group (http://www.comascience.org) at the GIGA Research and Neurology Department of the University and University Hospital of Liège, Belgium. He is Research Director at the Belgian National Fund for Scientific Research and board-certified in neurology and in palliative medicine. He is president-elect of the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness and chair of the World Federation of Neurology Applied Research Group on Coma. His team studies acquired brain injury and altered states of consciousness (e.g., comatose, “vegetative”/unresponsive, minimally conscious and locked-in syndromes),confronting clinical expertise and bedside behavioral evaluation with neuroimaging. They also deal with the ethical implications of this translational clinical research.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 16:36
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