An expert has called for immediate research after a study suggested that elite rugby union players could be at increased risk of brain conditions.
The study looked at a link between sport and diseases that affect the brain.
The study should encourage dramatic changes in rugby to reduce the risk of brain injury, according to scientists.
The study raised a lot of questions, according to the association.
Professor Willie Stewart is an advisor to the research team.
Rugby players from the amateur and professional periods were looked at.
The health outcomes of former Scotland international male rugby players were compared with those of the general population.
Rugby players who were born before 1991 were more likely to die at an older age than their peers.
They were less likely to die of respiratory disease than from neurodegenerative disease.
They had a higher chance of being diagnosed with a disease.
Rugby players are more likely to be diagnosed with motor neurone disease than people of the same age range.
The number of cases in the study is believed to be small.
Parkinson's and dementia were more likely to be developed by former internationalists.
Brain health and contact sports are being debated.
A series of research studies, including this latest one from the University of Glasgow, add weight to the idea that elite players are more at risk than the rest of the population.
If the number of players surveyed is small, it's important to draw firm conclusions.
The need for further research on the impact of concussion and other head injuries on the long-term health of rugby players has been underscored by the research team led by Professor Willie Stewart.
The results of the FIELD study have been published.
Prof Stewart's research found that former footballer professionals are three-and-a-half times more likely to die of dementia than the general population.
The data on motor neurone disease risk among rugby players is higher than that for former professional football players.
Immediate research is needed to explore the specific association between rugby and motor neurone disease.
The academic said that urgent action needed to be taken by rugby authorities.
The pace of change was slow, but he welcomed moves to reduce high- impact training.
They should be talking about limiting it instead of talking about extending seasons.
We're getting rid of as much training as we can. Things like that need to be dealt with quickly.
Three out of four rugby players with dementia had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a specific pathology linked to brain injury exposure, according to a study.
There was no sign of increased risk when it came to the position on the field.
The new study added weight to previous reports from the FIELD team on increased risk of neurodegeneration in football players.
He said it raised more questions than it answered.
It's not clear how many players were diagnosed with the disease, but the number will be small.
The study population appears to include people in the 'high risk' age range of 50 to 80 years, so it is surprising that there were no cases reported in the larger control group.
The level of genetic risk in high- performance athletes may be different from the general population because of a complex mix of genetic and environmental risk factors.
The director of research at MND Scotland welcomed the piece of research. The small sample size of the study means that larger studies will need to be done to confirm the results.
This is the first time that an increased risk has been suggested for rugby players. There are no known reasons for the apparent increases.
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