Researchers weigh in on Favre's Parkinson's diagnosis and time in NFL

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A new chapter in Brett Favre's story is being written after announcing Tuesday that he has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. 

Researchers tell us there's no way of knowing how much Brett Favre's time in the NFL may have contributed to Parkinson's. Studies comparing head injuries to neurological disorders like Parkinson's are out there. One such research team is right here.

"My heart goes out to him. It can be a challenging diagnosis," said Dr. Benjamin Brett, assistant professor, Medical College of Wisconsin.

Two-thousand former football players participated in phase one of a study on concussions. The Medical College already has some preliminary findings.

"The people who are having the most difficulty are the people at the extremely high end of concussion history spectrum. So people who have between six to 10 or even 10 or more, we kind of group people into different bins of concussion history," said Dr. Brett.

Brett Favre served as the Packers' quarterback from 1992 to 2007. The Associated Press reports Favre said in a 2002 interview, he's had thousands of concussions in his career.

"It's important to not necessarily generalize some of the things that are being found in former professional athletes from decades earlier," said Dr. Brett.

That's because Dr. Brett says today, concussions automatically sideline players until they meet requirements, and that's helping long-term. Today, former professional athletes can lower their risk of neurological disorders by eating right and exercising.

"You know those who have all of those things going for them, from a healthy lifestyle perspective, are actually doing really well and we even see that it mitigates some of the adverse effects of head injury history," said Dr. Brett.

"People who exercise do much better with Parkinson's disease compared to the people who don't," said Dacy Reimer, director of medical advising and education with Wisconsin Parkinson Association.

The Wisconsin Parkinson Association offers exercise classes. Dacy Reimer says her hope is that Favre has support around him as he's made his diagnosis public.

"The first year with Parkinson's is difficult. It's really the most difficult, I think, because you're trying to figure out how that diagnosis and that the symptoms incorporate into your life. The key is not becoming the disease, right, to still be yourself," said Reimer.

The WPA has a list of movement disorder specialists, and they host conferences.