...may be leading to CTE. The next step is to find biomarkers (the Dr. Inga Koerte research)–the DETECT study using lumbar puncture– and brain imagery (early PET scan, Siemens) to locate abnormal tau levels so that CTE can be diagnosed earlier and more definitively. Dr. Stern concluded that his work has only reached the ‘infant stage’ of development. Questions which badly need answers: Is CTE common? Why do some contact sports athletes get it and others never do? What are the risk factors? Genetics? Exposure? Far larger sample sizes–and funding–are needed, and unfortunately NIH funding has grown scarce. [A note... Continue Reading
Search Results for CTE
NIH-NFL research grants on brain injury awarded (US)
In September 2012, the National Football League (NFL) donated $30 million to the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) to focus on brain injury. The Sports and Health Research Program (SHRP) now has a somewhat wider scope inclusive of joint diseases, sudden cardiac arrest, sickle cell anemia and hydration/heat injury. Last week they announced eight projects to be supported. Two ($6 million each) are cooperative agreements focusing on brain injury and after multiple concussions. These research projects are: Boston University, which has pioneered major CTE research [TTA 5 June], and the VA on CTE; the pathology of CTE... Continue Reading
Further evidence of brain affect of sub-concussive blows
...in less than 7 percent of a normal population, McAllister said. Those performing worse exhibited more changes in the corpus callosum region of the brain — a bundle of nerves connecting the left and right sides of the brain — than athletes who scored as predicted.” Whether these changes reversed after the season was over was not in the scope of the study–an important factor in bolstering the validity of and preventing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in sports. HealthDay Previously in TTA: Quantifying concussion and sub-concussion, Contact sports, long term effects and CTE, Acknowledging the reality of TBI in sports... Continue Reading
The inevitable: class action lawsuit against 23andMe
...domain, this Editor discovered that Mr. Ankcorn, a trial lawyer with a major-league track record of wins, recently joined the high-powered CaseyGerry firm of San Diego, which specializes in high-profile personal injury/death class action lawsuits including litigation against the NFL on TBI and CTE plus the 2011 Reno Air Races crash. Our readers should not be surprised as our article last week was blunt on the red carpet 23andMe was figuratively rolling out for the lawyers: Get what your product does (your implied warrant of service) rock solid (23andMe is not at this point) and backed up by studies. Structure... Continue Reading
International CES unveils in NYC
...drinks. Most notable: Reebok’s new Checklight, which fits in a skullcap and measures impact with a simple red-yellow-green display on the athlete’s neck (red being the highest level of impact). [grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Reebok-Checklight.jpg” thumb_width=”150″ /]This product reflects the growing concern with sports concussions, TBI and CTE. Reebok claims it can be worn with or without a helmet; this would benefit athletes who don’t wear helmets in sports such as baseball, soccer (football), rugby and lacrosse but have significant impacts and possible brain trauma. It does not currently send data via M2M but their representative told me Reebok is working on this.... Continue Reading
Counting the hits in a helmet with nano-enabled foam
Cushioning blows to the head, whether in football, soccer (football ex USA), hockey, cycling and in combat, is something that present helmets don’t do terribly well, if worn at all–thus the prevalence of concussions not being diagnosed properly, or the cumulative sub-concussive blows that may result in CTE. A Brigham Young University (Utah) team has developed a helmet with what they dub ‘ExoNanoFoam’ in contact with the player’s head. The foam is piezoelectric–when there is pressure on the foam, it produces an electrical voltage. The voltage is read by a sensor in the helmet, sent to a tablet or other... Continue Reading
Acknowledging the reality of TBI in sports
Last week’s $765 million settlement by the National Football League (NFL) concluded a lawsuit in the works for over a year [TTA 7 Sept 12] that was brought by more than 4,500 players and their families. The more legally minded will argue that the NFL ‘got away with it’ before the season started; they admitted to no causal role between the game and traumatic brain injury (TBI) or chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which can only be confirmed post-mortem. The financial settlement sets small caps relative to the nature of the illness and the cost of care. What’s Unsettled About The... Continue Reading
Cleveland Clinic concussion diagnostic app repurposed
...assesses cognitive and motor impairment; information processing ability; attention/memory; balance and visual acuity. C3 also uses the Sports Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT2), a globally recognized protocol for evaluating concussions, as part of the assessment. Neil Versel reports that Cleveland Clinic is now trialling it at the Rock Valley Community High School in Rock Valley, Iowa, population 3,400. One wonders, with all the attention in the past few years on concussion and CTE, why this clinical app originally meant for their internal use wasn’t repurposed more quickly by the Cleveland Clinic. Cleveland Clinic extends iPad-based concussion detection to rural settings (Mobihealthnews)... Continue Reading
Quantifying concussion and sub-concussion
A short and graphical article on the impact of concussions in contact sports. The HealthWorks Collective article unfortunately only focuses on concussion when there’s mounting evidence that cumulative sub-concussive blows at 15-20Gs are just as harmful as concussions at 100Gs [TTA 5 June] and a cause of CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy). Hard hits in US football can go up to a stunning 150Gs.The main article is from Popular Mechanics which also describes how equipment, including shoulder pads, are being designed to distribute and detect impact. What’s also surprising is how many Gs normal activities such as hopping off a (high?)... Continue Reading
Concussion monitoring in test in NY high school (US)
Following our coverage of CTE and mTBI (mild traumatic brain injury) at the GCRI presentation last week, a small-town football team is one of the first to pilot, albeit for three days, a new concussion detection technology developed by i1Biometrics. The Middletown, NY high school tested their Impact Sensing Mouth Guard that measures hits to better assess the likelihood of cumulative blows and outright head injuries. The mouth guards recognize cheek tissue for activation, and function as a standard mouth guard plus accelerometer and gyroscope to detect the hard-to-determine rotational acceleration. Data is then transmitted wirelessly to a monitoring station... Continue Reading
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