Football disease, the theory of a group of Italian scholars on the possible relationship between Sla and noise

The last well -known name affected by ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) is Matteo Materazzisports prosecutor and brother of Marco, former Inter defender and world champion with the Italian national team. In his case, the link with football exists only in newspapers and is practically non -existent in reality since Matteo has never played at high levels, but before him many idols of the ball – from Stefano Borgonovo to Gianluca Signorini, Pietro Anastasi, Giovanni Bertini and Marco Sguaitzer just to name a few – They died of this pathology.

And it seems not surprisingly, seen thatAnd the incidence of SLA in the players is much higher than the average of the rest of the populationso much so that over the years there has often been spoken of players’ disease. The reason why these athletes get sick is at the moment unknown and among the many hypothesis A new one has recently been added, according to which at the basis of the phenomenon there may be the Frastuon of the stadiums in which they play.

To formulate this theory was a group of Italian researchers led by Roberto Maggio, full professor at the Department of Applied and Biotechnological Clinical Sciences of the University of L’Aquila, who exposed it in one study Widespread on the magazine forum Medical Hypotheses.

What is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amiotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease or Charcot disease, is one progressive neurodegenerative disease which affects the motor neurons, the brain nerve cells and the spinal cord that allow the movements of the voluntary musculature. Those who get sick gradually loses the ability to move, speak, swallow and finally breathe. To date, there are no care and the causes of the onset are unknown, also as regards the players.

At the base of the new theory

As demonstrated by several studies carried out over the years, theintense physical activity typical of those who practice competitive sports in themselves would not represent a risk factor for SLA and not even exposure to a high noise pollutioncommon in many other professions in which the incidence does not increase compared to the average. To make the difference For the idols of the ball It would be that these two conditionsduring the games played in large stages, they occur simultaneously.

Pass constantly and for many consecutive hours of time in environments where sounds have high decibels can in fact transiently interrupt the hematencephalic barrier (Bee), facilitating the entry of neurotoxic substances produced during intense physical activity – as metabolites related to stress (for example lactate and ammonia) and pro -inflammatory cytokines – in the central nervous system, contributing to the pathogenesis of ALS.

Animal studies have shown that to generate these effects on the bee It is sufficient to expose yourself to levels of sound pressure of 90-100 decibelswidely overcome by those who normally record in the stadiums that host summit games, where supporters of the supporters in the stands can generate peaks of 140 decibels.

Obviously at the moment This new theory is little more than an intuition Without any scientific feedback and that to be confirmed or denied it would need specific studies that compare the permeability of the bee and markers of neurodegenerative diseases of players and people who carry out other professions.

To make it at least plausible, however, there would also be another aspect already known to science, namely that The incidence of ALS in the world of football would increase hand in hand with the prestige of the category in which athletes play.

The most affected in Serie A

According to a study conducted in 2019 by the Mario Negri Institute and published byAmerican Academy of Neurologyin fact, all players are more likely to get sick than the average of other people (double), but For those who play in Serie A – where the public in the stadiums is greater and the noise too – The risk would increase by six times.

The research that allowed to discover this aspect examined the players present in the collections of Panini Figurine from the 1959-1960 season to 1999-2000 and on 23,875 Serie A militants, B and C emerged 32 cases of ALS, most in Serie A.

Among these 14 midfielders, 9 defenders, 6 attackers and 3 goalkeepers. Cases in recent years have unfortunately increased but still The least affected role remains the goalkeeper.

An apparently irrelevant detail but that could perhaps further support the thesis that the binomial intense physical activity and noise ill, as those who remain on the door, to the same exposure to the frastono produced by the ultrà, to sick, carries out a clearly lower physical activity to those who run in the middle of the field.

Not surprisingly, athletes of other sports such as basketball or hockey that provide for a lower intensity and do not lead to the same accumulation of lactic acid, they are no longer subject to getting ALS compared to those who carry out other professions.

Scientific source: Sounding The Alarm: Could Stadium Crowd Noise Contribute to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Risk in Soccer and Football Players?; Roberto Maggio, Irene Fasciani, Maria Francesca Coppolino, Francesco Petragnano, Mario Rossi; Direct science.