@thedrakefdn

Bringing neuroscience to contact sport. We're trying to better understand long-term health issues in sport through research and collaboration.

 London, England
drakefoundation.org
Joined May 2015
  • Tweets1.5K
  • Following475
  • Followers1.7K
186Media
We were so humbled to see this post from @Tommo33. We admire his bravery and what he’s done to alert the game we all love to the risks which haven’t been properly addressed yet.
Stephen Thompson MBE 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇬🇧@Tommo33s31 Mar 2024
I can't thank @jamesjpdrake enough for this painting. He has been an amazing friend and has done so much to make rugby safer. Using his own money. @thedrakefdn Only for the rugby authorities to throw it in his face. As they don't want to hear the truth. #thankyou #braininjury
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The Drake Foundation retweeted
James Drake
@jamesjpdrakeMar 5
Of course elite rugby needs to do more on safety. They dwell on concussions so they can say without proper scientific evidence “he / she has recovered now”. It’s actually more about CUMULATIVE impacts.
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The Drake Foundation retweeted
James Drake
@jamesjpdrakeMar 5
youtube.com/watch?si=4ipBe3I…
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The Drake Foundation retweeted
James Drake
@jamesjpdrakeMar 3
Replying to @thedrakefdn
@thedrakefdn found 23% of elite rugby players tested had white matter damage. New research links WM damage to cognitive and motor impairment. Thresholds and dose response remain unproven. Systematic Review 2025 | Brett et al | BMJ Brain Health Clinic pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/article…

Long-term neurobehavioral and neuroimaging outcomes in athletes with prior concussion(s) and head...

The long-term health of former athletes with a history of multiple concussions and/or repetitive head impact (RHI) exposure has been of growing interest among the public. The true proportion of...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
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The Drake Foundation retweeted
James Drake
@jamesjpdrakeMar 3
Ben Youngs asks if elite rugby is safe. The main issue is cumulative impact. The Drake Foundation found 23% tested showed brain damage, with many players now suffering in their 40s. Players must act to drive change.
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The Drake Foundation retweeted
James Drake
@jamesjpdrakeMar 3
@benyoungs09 on BBC Sport tonight: bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/… @thedrakefdn study here: academic.oup.com/braincomms/…

Ben Youngs on what he learned about safety in rugby in BBC Sport documentary

Ben Youngs, England’s most-capped men's player, looks into concussion and brain injuries in rugby.

bbc.co.uk
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The Drake Foundation retweeted
James Drake
@jamesjpdrakeJan 2
At the 10th anniversary of @thedrakefdn elite rugby players know (from our 2021 study) at least 23% of them are liable to white matter damage by age 25. So they must now share some responsibility for demanding rule changes.
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The Drake Foundation retweeted
James Drake
@jamesjpdrakeJan 2
Please find the link to read more here: academic.oup.com/braincomms/…

White matter abnormalities in active elite adult rugby players

Using advanced neuroimaging techniques to study a group of professional rugby players, Zimmerman et al. report evidence of both cross-sectional and longitu

academic.oup.com
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The Drake Foundation retweeted
James Drake
@jamesjpdrake7 Oct 2025
As an amateur artist, doing portraits gives me joy. Never more than this one of ‘friend of humanity’ @LewisMoody7, now displayed on his mother’s wall. We are there for you Lewis, now and always. xxx
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The Drake Foundation retweeted
James Drake
@jamesjpdrake6 Oct 2025
I am devastated to learn that Lewis Moody, one of the finest people you’ll ever meet, Ambassador of @thedrakefdn, has been diagnosed with MND - the muscle-wasting condition that took fellow rugby players Doddie Weir and Rob Burrow. bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/…

Lewis Moody: Former England captain reveals motor neurone disease diagnosis

Former England captain Lewis Moody says in an exclusive BBC interview he has "a reluctance to look the future in the face".

bbc.co.uk
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The Drake Foundation retweeted
James Drake
@jamesjpdrake22 Sep 2025
New study shows repetitive head impact (RHI) -driven cellular changes occur prior to CTE development & in young brains. A 2021 @thedrakefdn study showed 23% of 44 elite rugby players had white matter damage. When will rugby authorities wake up & reduce impacts?
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The Drake Foundation retweeted
James Drake
@jamesjpdrake22 Sep 2025
New Nature paper: nature.com/articles/s41586-0…… 2021 Drake Foundation study: academic.oup.com/braincomms/……

Repeated head trauma causes neuron loss and inflammation in young athletes

Nature - Repetitive head impacts from contact sports are associated with brain inflammation, vascular damage and neuron loss that are independent of hyperphosphorylated tau pathology.

nature.com
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The Drake Foundation retweeted
James Drake
@jamesjpdrake12 Aug 2025
We know that cerebral blood flow reductions and vascular dysfunction can be key early features in neurodegenerative diseases. So the 2021 finding of either axonal injury or diffuse vascular injury in the brains of 10/44 elite rugby players needs further investigation. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3025… academic.oup.com/braincomms/…

The role of brain vasculature in neurodegenerative disorders - PubMed

Adequate supply of blood and structural and functional integrity of blood vessels are key to normal brain functioning. On the other hand, cerebral blood flow shortfalls and blood-brain barrier...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
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The Drake Foundation retweeted
James Drake
@jamesjpdrake4 Aug 2025
Today’s elite rugby union players are at least aware of the risks to long-term brain health. It was far less clear after the game went professional (1995) but it doesn’t diminish the responsibility of those who run the game. academic.oup.com/braincomms/…

White matter abnormalities in active elite adult rugby players

Using advanced neuroimaging techniques to study a group of professional rugby players, Zimmerman et al. report evidence of both cross-sectional and longitu

academic.oup.com
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The Drake Foundation retweeted
James Drake
@jamesjpdrake24 Jul 2025
1 in 8 women were victims of domestic crime, sexual abuse or stalking in the last year. Separately the Drake IPV Study showed ongoing mental health disorders remained elevated even 27 years after abuse stopped. itv.com/news/2025-07-24/one-… mentalhealth.bmj.com/content…

One in eight women victims of domestic abuse, stalking or sexual assault | ITV News

It is the first time the ONS has combined data for the offences to try track violence against women and girls (VAWG). | ITV National News

itv.com
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Now that all this MRI data is being generated for the population as a whole, it is vital that contact sport starts to collect baseline MRI data for players who request it. news.sky.com/story/worlds-bi…

World's biggest human imaging project reaches new milestone after scanning 100,000th UK volunteer

The UK Biobank has now scanned 100,000 people, taking recordings of hearts, brains, blood vessels and bones. As the world's most comprehensive human imaging project, it's providing insights into...

news.sky.com
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The Drake Foundation retweeted
BMJ Mental Health@BMJMentalHealth22 Jun 2025
📢 New in BMJ Mental Health: This article presents a study investigating the long-term mental health outcomes associated with intimate partner violence & traumatic brain injury in midlife individuals. To access the full article, please use the link below: mentalhealth.bmj.com/content… #MentalHealthResearch #IntimatePartnerViolence #TraumaticBrainInjury #Midlife @WillStewNeuro @NatalieDJenkin1 @AD_PREVENT @UofGlasgow @UofGMVLS
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The Drake Foundation retweeted
The Drake Foundation@thedrakefdn9 Jun 2025
Here is the first publication from the Drake IPV Study published online in BMJ Mental Health: Article: mentalhealth.bmj.com/content…

Intimate partner violence, traumatic brain injury and long-term mental health outcomes in midlife:...

Background Approximately 30% of women experience intimate partner violence (IPV) in their lifetime, often with traumatic brain injury (TBI) exposure. Nevertheless, there has been limited research...

mentalhealth.bmj.com
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The Drake Foundation retweeted
James Drake
@jamesjpdrake25 Jun 2025
Prof. William Stewart, coauthor of The Drake IPV Study, discusses the long-term implications of intimate partner violence for brain health. The study of 632 adults showed ongoing mental health disorders remained elevated even 27 years after abuse stopped. @WillStewNeuro jamesdrake.com/drakes-studie…
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The Drake IPV Study (drakefoundation.org/the-drak…) found that women who experienced physical abuse in the context of domestic violence are more likely to suffer from long-term mental health challenges, even decades after the abuse has ended. Find the link here: independent.co.uk/news/healt…

The Drake IPV Study - The Drake Foundation

The Drake IPV Study will investigate changes in neuroimaging and cognitive test data in individuals exposed to domestic abuse.

drakefoundation.org
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Here is the first publication from the Drake IPV Study published online in BMJ Mental Health: Article: mentalhealth.bmj.com/content…

Intimate partner violence, traumatic brain injury and long-term mental health outcomes in midlife:...

Background Approximately 30% of women experience intimate partner violence (IPV) in their lifetime, often with traumatic brain injury (TBI) exposure. Nevertheless, there has been limited research...

mentalhealth.bmj.com
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