Researchers have launched a new study which hopes to better understand the link between playing soccer and developing dementia. The project by the University of East Anglia (UEA) hopes to serially test former professionals, both male and female, every six months in order to map their rate of decline. By using cutting edge technology, the project aims to detect signs of dementia long before noticeable symptoms, such as memory loss.
The new initiative follows a landmark study released by the University of Glasgow that revealed former players were around a three and a half times more likely to die from neurodegenerative disease.
"In former professionals, there is a problem. We now need to investigate that much further," lead researcher of the UEA project Dr. Michael Grey told CNN Sport.
"What we're interested in doing is looking at people who are actually still with us. I want to to follow them for years, ideally for the rest of their lives."
The majority of participants will be able to take part in the tests from the comfort of their own homes, using their tablet or computer devices to complete simple tasks.
The project will include a number of "novel" techniques including testing spatial navigation, an area of cognitive function that Dr. Grey says seems to degrade more rapidly than others.
"I think the easiest way to explain it is if you drove into work today, you could probably close your eyes and point to your car, and you'd be pretty close to being accurate," he said.
"People with dementia have challenges doing those types of exercises because it relies on an area of the brain that's responsible for remembering where we are in space."
The UEA wants to raise £1 million ($1.32m) for new study and hopes 10% of that figure will be crowd funded.
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