Donate ex-footballers' brains for head injury research - Jeff Astle's daughter

The brains of former footballers should be donated for research to allow studies into the health effects of heading the ball, the daughter of former player Jeff Astle said.

The former England and West Brom striker died of a degenerative brain condition in 2002, aged 59, with a coroner describing his illness as an "industrial disease", following years of headers on the pitch.

Dawn Astle said the "evidence is mounting" of such a link, following new research into footballers and brain injury.

The small study found footballers who repeatedly head the ball can end up suffering from dementia.

The results provide a platform for a "pressing research question" on whether dementia is more common in footballers than the general population, the authors said.

The team behind the latest study acknowledged their sample size was small - only six of the 14 participants involved had post-mortem examinations undertaken on their brains.

Ms Astle, who with her mother and sister set up the Jeff Astle Foundation to raise awareness and campaign for further research on the issue, said more donors are needed for future studies.

Dawn Astle said:

The research received a cautious welcome from dementia charities, which said the study does not definitively prove a link between the sport and the disease.

Dr James Pickett, head of research at the Alzheimer's Society, said bigger investigations, taking into account other factors are needed: