US Women's Soccer Star Donates Her Brain

Brandi Chastain, women's soccer icon USA, promised to donate his brain to research disease Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) at Boston University.

Degenerative brain disease that can cause symptoms similar to Alzheimer's such as memory loss, anger is mounting, and mood changes abruptly.

Scientists believe that CTE occurs when the head is often exposed to a blow that causes the appearance of abnormal protein in the brain called tau.

Football and rugby or American football (American Football), thought to be one cause of the CET in athletes-athletes.

Chastain is a goalscorer victory in a penalty shootout in 1999 Women's World Cup final against China. Chastain public remembered Uncle Sam because the pose after scoring the goal, namely to his knees, opened her costume, as well as his fist, shouting happily.

The photos were chosen as the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine the second most popular in history. Many regard as the greatest moment in the history of the United States women's sports.

In a statement, a two-time women's World Cup champion said that he hopes his donation will change for the better football again.

"I hope my experience in the world of football, and what I can give back, to make football a place better than when I first foray into it," said Chastain, who is now 47 years old.

"It has been playing football since I was little, I lost count how many times I headed home. The numbers are very significant. Very terrible laneways think of the whole header and also the potential of a concussion that was never diagnosed in my life. But it is better to find out."

Research in 2013 showed that players who head the ball more often have abnormalities in their brains similar to those who had concussions. The study also showed that the ball player averaged six to 12 times the header of each game, when the ball at the speed of 50 meters per hour.

In the training session, every player heading the ball at least 30 times.

Heading also be the cause of at least one third of the total cases of mild concussions that occur in young players. And female athletes have a higher risk again.

Research in 2015 and then to 100 schoolgirls showed that women are more at risk of concussions 1.5 times higher than teenage boys.

Chastain who has become a mother now works as a football coach at his alma mater, the University of Santa Clara.

In an interview with CNN International in 2012 and, Chastain said that he worked hard to teach his players to avoid a clash of heads.

"For me, most of the work was not a matter of avoiding a header. But be aware of how quickly the enemy ran over, how the condition of the body in space, and how can you protect yourself?" Chastain said.

"How can you protect yourself in the space (narrow) so there is no clash of heads?" he said. "We teach the players awareness of space when others attempted to enter their area."

Chastain also involved in the campaign "Football Safer" which aims to abolish football header at an early age, or rather under the age of 14 years.

Last November, the United States soccer federation prohibits children under the age of 11 years for the ball.