Abstract

Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured as initial slope index (ISI) (inhalation method of 133-Xenon; 32 probes) in 14 boxers (7 amateurs and 7 professionals); flow values were related to electroencephalogram (EEG) and clinical examinations. In order to evaluate statistically rCBF data a comparison (t-test) was made between the flow values of amateur and professional boxers and those of a group of healthy volunteers, in the same age range. We demonstrated a statistically significant global reduction of flow values (15) in professional boxers, whereas flow values of amateur boxers resulted in the normal range. No correlations between flow data and EEG were found. These results could suggest: a) the continuous exposure of the brain to traumatic injuries may result in a reduction of cerebral blood flow; b) non invasive measurement rCBF appears to be a more sensitive method than EEG and conventional clinical examinations in estimating an early damage of the brain. Verf.-Referat