Dehydration and Traumatic Brain Injury
Abstract
Boxers lose up to 15% of their body weight and on average 6.7% prior to weigh in. Boxers dehydrate to make the weight class and will rapidly rehydrate before fighting. During fights, boxers receive traumatic brain injuries. There is reason to believe that if boxers are not properly rehydrated the traumatic brain injuries could be exacerbated, however, this hypothesis had never been explored. This study aimed to determine the extent of fluid loss and traumatic brain injuries. This study utilized 48 mice. Half of the mice received dehydration followed by rehydration while the other half had normal fluid intake. Half of the mice in each condition received a traumatic brain injury or sham. Twenty-four hours after brain injury a series of behavior tests were conducted, including open field, elevated zero, sucrose preference, and novel object recognition. Results of this study will inform the boxing community about the potential dangers of the pre-weigh in process. The long-term goal of this line of research is to change the way boxer weigh ins occurs to reduce forced dehydration for weight loss.
Faculty Sponsors
Dr. William Kochen
Project Type
Event
Location
Alvin Sherman Library
Start Date
4-3-2024 12:30 PM
End Date
4-4-2024 1:30 PM
Dehydration and Traumatic Brain Injury
Alvin Sherman Library
Boxers lose up to 15% of their body weight and on average 6.7% prior to weigh in. Boxers dehydrate to make the weight class and will rapidly rehydrate before fighting. During fights, boxers receive traumatic brain injuries. There is reason to believe that if boxers are not properly rehydrated the traumatic brain injuries could be exacerbated, however, this hypothesis had never been explored. This study aimed to determine the extent of fluid loss and traumatic brain injuries. This study utilized 48 mice. Half of the mice received dehydration followed by rehydration while the other half had normal fluid intake. Half of the mice in each condition received a traumatic brain injury or sham. Twenty-four hours after brain injury a series of behavior tests were conducted, including open field, elevated zero, sucrose preference, and novel object recognition. Results of this study will inform the boxing community about the potential dangers of the pre-weigh in process. The long-term goal of this line of research is to change the way boxer weigh ins occurs to reduce forced dehydration for weight loss.
