by brettb on September 2, 2010
Do repeated head injuries or sports-related concussions cause a brain disease that is similar to Lou Gerhig’s disease? Researchers from Boston University seem to think so.
Evidence shows repeated head injuries may be linked to brain diseases
As reported by the Wall Street Journal recently, researchers took a look at the brain and spinal cords of deceased athletes. And what they found was that there was evidence to support the position that multiple head trauma or repeated head injuries – MTBI – was linked to a condition very similar to Lou Gehrig’s disease also known as ALS.
The researchers also determined that with repeated concussions the risk increases for a variety of brain disorders – Alzheimers’s, Parkinson’s and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a muscle-wasting disease.
More research is needed, of course, to verify the scientist findings and to explore additional and related issues. However, this information may be useful to doctors and scientists in treating brain injuries in athletes and personal injury victims.
by brettb on July 16, 2010
Mild traumatic brain injury is really anything but mild. Brain Injuries are ranked or graded based on their degree of severity. Thus, a Mild traumatic brain injury is only mild when compared to a traumatic brain injury.
This injury impacts over a million injury victims every year. For many of these individuals a full recovery is achieved. However, many others are left with serious and long lasting impairments and disabilities.
But new research in the field of brain injuries, especially MTBI, is aiding doctors and physicians in the treatment of brain injuries and alerting the public to the need for more study and funding. And this is no more true than in the area of concussions or MTBI suffered by high school and college athletes.
The Journal of Neuropsychiatry has published extensively regarding the impact of MTBI on young athletes and the risks associated with MTBI and long term cognitive impairment.
What is needed is a reevaluation of how we assess the risk of MTBI in youth sports as well as the rate of repeated injury. Better imaging, better treatment techniques, and better protective equipment and rules of operation are desperately needed if we are to insure the safety of young people engaged in high school and college sports.
