EVIDENCE

published this week suggests that a single episode of concussion increases the risk of Parkinson’s disease by more than 50 per cent. There is now mounting proof that various types of trauma to the head can cause long-term damage, including possibly dementia. This brings up lots of difficult questions when assessing the risk of, say, contact sports — and especially boxing, the only sport where the sole aim is to induce neurological damage in the opponent, because that’s what it is when you knock someone out. can this really be permitted in a civilised society?