Scans on AFL stars part of study on long-term effects of head trauma Former AFL star Greg Williams believes his severe memory loss resulted in repeated blows to the head during his career. VICTORIAN neurologists are being deployed to scan the brains of 15 AFL players after concussion, amid growing international concern over the long-term effects of head hits. The research, the first of its kind aiming to conclusively determine if concussion causes brain disease, will result in up to 5000 former AFL players being surveyed about memory loss and mental health. The long-term study by the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health and the AFL coincides with controversial research linking concussion in US footballers and ice hockey players with Alzheimer's disease-like symptoms in later life. But despite the AFL having 15 times the concussion rate as America's NFL, the head of the Florey's sports injury program, Associate Professor Paul McCrory, said the jury was out on long-term effects. "I think the Americans are overcalling their findings, but the only way to be sure is to survey our athletes," he said. The AFL Players' Association will send online surveys to 2500 former players next month, but is hoping to contact another 2500 not registered with the association. Players who report problems will undergo detailed scans and memory tests. In addition to the 15 current players scanned in the past two years, the Florey Institute has used hi-tech imaging to search for brain damage in 12 past players. "We don't see structural injury to the brain, as you would in a car accident," Associate Prof McCrory said. When we look at how neurons in the brain talk to one another, we see messages aren't getting through clearly (after concussion). The nerve cells aren't permanently damaged, but they're temporarily out of action. Dual Brownlow medallist Greg Williams, 50, revealed this year he believed his severe memory loss resulted from repeated blows to the head during his 250 games between 1984-97. AFL medical director Dr Peter Harcourt said management of concussion in athletes remained "an issue of increasing concern." Former Sydney Swans midfielder Jude Bolton, who suffered a double bout of concussion in a 2010 match, said the AFL had become a leader in making the "head sacrosanct" and implementing a rule preventing a player returning to a game following concussion, but more research was needed. It's definitely a concern. No one wants dementia and depression later in life," Bolton said. Whatever the findings, I don't think it will change the nature of the sport, but we need this knowledge for players' welfare.