SUMMARY Detailed neurological examinations, EEG and CT scans of the head were performed on 10 professional boxers aged 20 to 31 years shortly after being knocked-out. Intracerebral and subdural haematomas were not suspected or discovered. However, CT scans revealed cerebral atrophy in five of the boxers; this finding was most common in the boxers with the most bouts. The possible relationship of these findings to the chronic encephalopathy of boxers is discussed.Six North American professional boxers have died in the past year from injuries sustained in the ring. The Associated Press reports 330 boxing fatalities since 1945.1 In response to these deaths, there have been calls to ban boxing or at least institute stricter medical controls to prevent serious injury. Since most boxing deaths are due to acute subdural haematomas and other brain injuries,2 we initiated this study of the effects of boxing on the brain. The goals of our study are twofold (1) to determine if CT scanning of the head can contribute to the assessment of boxers' conditions after knockouts and (2) to correlate the results of neurological examination, electroencephalography, and CT scanning in these fighters. Materials and methodsTen active professional boxers who were knocked out in bouts, or were judged by a ringside physician to have sustained significant head trauma in a technical knockout have been included. A "knock-out" occurs when a boxer is knocked to the canvas and is unable to regain erect posture within 10 seconds. Information about the

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A case is reported in which an intracerebral bullet track was demonstrated by brain imaging, The possible advantages of technetium-99-m localization and the role of brain imaging in gunshot injuries of the head are discussed.

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