Former England internationals to assist study into effect of concussions

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) announced that approximately 200 former England players will be involved in the study on the possible effects of concussion.

The age of the players involved in the study will be over 50 and will undergo various tests which will be compared with the same tests conducted on the general population.

RFU said on a statement that there has been an increased risk of neurodegenerative diseases including dementia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson's disease (PD) and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in former sportspersons and the board wants to find out whether involving in a concussion or similar injury during their rugby career can increase the chances of them being exposed to these diseases.

Earlier, England captain Dylan Hartley, who recovered from the concussion, he suffered in the Grand Slam clinching England victory admitted that another such injury might mark an end to his career prematurely.

''If I got another lay-off now, I'd be worried," he said.

"I'd probably start looking at other careers or maybe a long lay-off. Maybe I'll look at my tackling technique too!'' Hartley said.

''I'd have to ask a specialist. Three (concussions) in one season would warrant a bit of time off and I would probably take that anyway - take a step back and have a minute."

RFU's chief medical officer Simon Kemp believes the long-term effect of a concussion injury should be analysed and addressed after the National Football League admitted the link between American football-related head trauma and CTE.

"The RFU has worked extremely hard to increase the education of those involved in the game about concussion and to improve the management of the risk of the injury based on the evidence available," Kemp said.

"The next step for us a union and as a sport is progress beyond delivering 'recognise, remove, recover and return' and try to understand more about the possible longer-term effects on the health of the brain."

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, the Institute of Occupational Medicine and University College London and Oxford University will be assisting the RFU in conducting the tests while The Drake Foundation will be funding £450,000 to the study.

Professor Neil Pearce from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine will be heading the study and he feels currently there is little evidence on the potential long-term effects of rugby related injuries.

"Evidence is accumulating on the possible long-term health risks in former contact sport athletes. However, each sport is different and there is currently little evidence from rugby players.

"This study will start to fill this gap, and will allow us to assess whether there are long-term health problems and what their causes may be.

“We are delighted to work with the RFU in recruiting former players for the study, and are pleased that the Drake Foundation is funding this important area of research."