The Australian Sports Brain Bank is a medical research laboratory, a part of the neuropathology department of the
Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
The Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (abbreviated RPAH or RPA) is a large teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located on Missenden Road in Camperdown. It is a teaching hospital of the Central Clinical School of the Sydney Medical School at the ...
(RPA) in Sydney. It is headed by neuropathologist Associate Professor Michael Buckland.
The bank was established in 2018 as a collaboration between RPA and
Sydney University
The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...
to study the relationship between
concussion
A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include headache, dizziness, difficulty with thinking and concentration, sleep disturbances, a brief ...
, head injury and
chronic traumatic encephalopathy
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated trauma to the head. The encephalopathy symptoms can include behavioral problems, mood problems, and problems with thinking. The disease often gets wor ...
(CTE). It is a partner organisation of Concussion Legacy Foundation's (CLF) Global Brain Bank.
In 2019, the bank opened a branch in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
in conjunction with the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine.
In 2020, the bank identified CTE in the brain of Australian rules football hall of fame member
Polly Farmer
Graham Vivian "Polly" Farmer (10 March 1935 14 August 2019) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and the East Perth Football Club and West Perth Football Club in th ...
.
was the first contact sportswoman in Australia to donate her brain to the Australian Sports Brain Bank. Barclay was found dead at her Perth home on 12 October 2020. Her death was implied to have been a suicide. In 2021 researchers uncovered neurological degradation to her cerebral white matter, similar to that found in the brains of American footballers. Damage of this type is thought to be the result of repetitive head injury from contact sports and is linked to an increased risk of suicide. In 2023 researchers from the bank posthumously diagnosed
Heather Anderson
Heather Anderson (29 July 1994 – 13 November 2022) was an Australian Army soldier and Australian rules footballer who played for the Adelaide Football Club in the AFL Women's competition in 2017. She served as a medic in the 1st Close Hea ...
with CTE. She is the first female athlete diagnosed with this disease.
Other athletes who have pledged to donate their brain to the bank include boxer
Jeff Fenech
Jeff Fenech (born 28 May 1964) is an Australians, Australian former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2008. He List of boxing triple champions, won world titles in three weight divisions, having held the International Boxing Feder ...
, National Football League player
Colin Scotts, Australian Football League players
Daniel Chick
Daniel Patrick Chick (born 10 February 1976) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Hawthorn and the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League. Chick is also well known for having a finger amputated in 2002 so he coul ...
and
Sam Blease
Sam Blease (born 19 February 1991) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club and Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Selected by Melbourne with pick 17 in the 20 ...
and National Rugby League players
Ian Roberts and
Shaun Valentine.
See also
*
Boston University CTE Center and Brain Bank The Boston University CTE Center is an independently run medical research lab located at the Boston University School of Medicine. The Center focuses on research related to the long-term effects of Traumatic brain injury, brain trauma and degenerati ...
*
Concussions in sport
Concussion, a type of mild traumatic brain injury that is caused by a direct or indirect hit to the head, body,neck, or face. Concussions can be caused by various mechanisms, is a common injury associated with sports and can affect people of al ...
References
External links
Official website
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Medical research institutes in Australia
University of Sydney
2018 establishments in Australia