Headers 'more damaging to female brains'

TAMPA - Brain damage from heading soccer balls might be five times more extensive in women than men, according to a US study based on nearly 100 amateur players.

The report published in the journal Radiology suggests that gender-specific guidelines might be needed to guard against head injuries.

"Researchers and clinicians have long noticed that women fare worse following head injury than men, but some have said that's only because women are more willing to report symptoms," said lead author Michael Lipton, professor of radiology, psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.