Oct 11, 2009 — See CBS News "60 Minutes"
You can't separate violence from football - it's part of the thrill of the game. Players know what they're risking when they hit the field, including injuries such as torn ligaments and broken bones. But what about a blow to the brain? According to the Centers for Disease Control, concussions from sports are an epidemic in this country.
As many as three million sports related concussions happen every year.
And new research shows that their effects can be frighteningly long-lasting, even leading to permanent brain damage and the early onset of dementia. While concussions happen in many sports, most happen in football.
Much of the information about those risks has come out only recently. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Center for the Study of Retired Athletes studied retired NFL players and found a correlation between the number of concussions and the onset of dementia and depression.
