Concussion

[namvet]

coming in Dec

In August 2011, former players brought a lawsuit forth against the NFL which included former Atlanta Falcons free safety Ray Easterling and Hall of Fame linebacker Junior Seau. The lawsuit, which began with 200 former NFL players expanded to over 5,000 by 2015, declared that players suffered head trauma which was directly caused by playing in the NFL. On April 22, 2015, Judge Anita Brody approved a settlement for the NFL to pay at least $900 million over 65-years, plus lawyer fees and interest of $112 million.

 

[9thIDdoc]

Hey, great! Wonder how much is owed to veterans and ex- boxers. (fat chance)

 

[depotoo]

I don't get it. They want to play in the nfl? They know that possibility exists and they get the big bucks for it. They keep it up, eventually the game will go by the wayside.

 

[waltky]

Musta been a pretty rough pillow fight...

Report: West Point Pillow Fight Causes Concussions
September 05, 2015 | A nighttime pillow fight at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York left 30 cadets injured, including 24 with concussions according to a report in a leading U.S. newspaper.

The New York Times said Friday the pillow fight marked the end of a "grueling" summer of training for freshman cadets. The paper said the fight is "billed as a harmless way to blow off steam and build class spirit." According to the report, some cadets stuffed the pillow cases with hard objects, thought to be helmets, that "split lips, broke at least one bone, dislocated shoulders and knocked cadets unconscious." The newspaper account said "as the scope of injuries became clear" that "West Point staff members went door to door in the barracks giving quick concussion checks."

What was described as a "brawl" happened on August 20, but West Point did not confirm it to The New York Times until Thursday. Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Kasker told The Times that first-year students, also known as plebes, use the annual fight as "a way to build camaraderie after the summer program that prepares them for the rigors of plebe year." Kasker said upperclassmen took measures to prevent injuries, including requiring cadets to wear helmets. He said an investigation about the cause of the injuries in under way. The newspaper reported no cadet has been punished so far.

The New York Times reported one upperclassman wrote on the social media forum Yik Yak that "My plebe was knocked unconscious and immediately began fighting when he came to. I was so proud I could cry." One female first-year student said about the fight and the resulting injuries, "I know it looks weird from the outside, but it really bonds us."

The Times reported the pillow fights have been an annual event at the U.S. Army's publicly funded academy since at least 1897, but reports of injury have only emerged recently. The newspaper reported that in 2012 after a cadet caused injuries by putting a lockbox in a pillowcase, the 2013 pillow fight was canceled.

Report: West Point Pillow Fight Causes Concussions

 

[depotoo]

Hurting each other builds camaraderie?!

Musta been a pretty rough pillow fight...

Report: West Point Pillow Fight Causes Concussions
September 05, 2015 | A nighttime pillow fight at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York left 30 cadets injured, including 24 with concussions according to a report in a leading U.S. newspaper.

The New York Times said Friday the pillow fight marked the end of a "grueling" summer of training for freshman cadets. The paper said the fight is "billed as a harmless way to blow off steam and build class spirit." According to the report, some cadets stuffed the pillow cases with hard objects, thought to be helmets, that "split lips, broke at least one bone, dislocated shoulders and knocked cadets unconscious." The newspaper account said "as the scope of injuries became clear" that "West Point staff members went door to door in the barracks giving quick concussion checks."

What was described as a "brawl" happened on August 20, but West Point did not confirm it to The New York Times until Thursday. Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Kasker told The Times that first-year students, also known as plebes, use the annual fight as "a way to build camaraderie after the summer program that prepares them for the rigors of plebe year." Kasker said upperclassmen took measures to prevent injuries, including requiring cadets to wear helmets. He said an investigation about the cause of the injuries in under way. The newspaper reported no cadet has been punished so far.

The New York Times reported one upperclassman wrote on the social media forum Yik Yak that "My plebe was knocked unconscious and immediately began fighting when he came to. I was so proud I could cry." One female first-year student said about the fight and the resulting injuries, "I know it looks weird from the outside, but it really bonds us."

The Times reported the pillow fights have been an annual event at the U.S. Army's publicly funded academy since at least 1897, but reports of injury have only emerged recently. The newspaper reported that in 2012 after a cadet caused injuries by putting a lockbox in a pillowcase, the 2013 pillow fight was canceled.

Report: West Point Pillow Fight Causes Concussions

 

[strollingbones]

a concussion is a form of brain damage...simple as that.....and the true effects of concussions are just being proved

 

[waltky]

NFL pulls funding from concussion study...

NFL reportedly pulls $30M funding for brain injury study
Dec. 22, 2015 - A study conducted by the National Institutes of Health on the relationship between football and brain disease will move forward without a $30 million research grant from the NFL.

ESPN's "Outside the Lines" reported Tuesday that the NFL grant in 2012 was to be used for the seven-year, $16 million project. However, the league backed out of that study when the NIH awarded the project to a group led by a prominent Boston University researcher who has been outspoken against the league. "Outside the Lines" cited sources in saying the NFL reversed its previous position that the funds could be used for research with no strings attached. ESPN quoted NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy as saying the NIH made "its own funding decisions."

The NIH announced in a press released Tuesday that the project would go forward and the ultimate goal remains the ability to diagnose chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in living patients. Posthumous studies of the brain in former NFL players, including prominent suicide victims Junior Seau and Dave Duerson, were found to be impacted by CTE.

Robert Stern, a professor of neurology and neurosurgery at Boston University, is the lead researcher. Vocal is only the beginning of his position on the NFL and head injuries. He wrote that commissioner Roger Goodell inherited a concussion cover-up from Paul Tagliabue and when a concussion settlement was first announced, Stern filed a 61-page letter of opposition. In that declaration, he said he opposed leaving out the many players who were or would be disabled by CTE. ESPN reportedly had concerns over Stern's objectivity, but in the same report Tuesday said that Stern had cleared a vetting process and "scientific merit review" plus another evaluation by a dozen high-level experts assembled by the NIH.

NFL reportedly pulls $30M funding for brain injury study

 

[waltky]

Movie to have an effect on the NFL...

'Concussion' director says changes on horizon for NFL
24 Dec.`15 - The director of football head trauma film "Concussion" says the beloved American sport may already be in the early stages of "a seismic shift" as parents are dissuaded from letting their children play football amid safety concerns.

"Concussion," out in U.S. theaters on Christmas Day, stars Will Smith as Nigerian forensic pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu, who uncovered the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in former Pittsburgh football players that died sudden and tragic deaths. The Sony Pictures film, garnering awards buzz especially for Smith's performance, comes at a time where head trauma is a hot button topic in the multi-million dollar NFL industry.

A change could be taking place at a grassroots level, however, as writer-director Peter Landesman said the numbers for Pop Warner football, a children's football league, are "down as much as 35 percent." "Those elite athletes at six, seven years old are not playing football; they're wrestling, they're running, they're playing lacrosse," he said. "Those kids will not show up in the NFL, that number is only going to get bigger. (There's a) seismic change coming for the sport," he added.

The director said the film is meant to give audiences information so that they can make up their own minds about the safety of the sport. "I would never tell another parent or another teenager or adult what to do," he said. "The film embraces what a conflicting problem this is." "Concussion" explores Omalu's perseverance to make his CTE research known to the NFL, but the corporation, portrayed as a faceless, and at times, manipulative Goliath, tries to quash his findings - details that Landesman said he uncovered through his own sources at the organization. "I think that the film is a powerful indictment," he said, adding that "the movie's also an expose" of the NFL's early cover-ups of CTE research.

Sony this week said it will offer all NFL team owners, players and their families free entry to screenings of "Concussion." While the NFL did not respond for comment on the screenings, the organization has previously said regarding the movie, "We welcome any conversation about player health and safety." "I think the NFL is doing everything they can do on this issue," Landesman said. "They have concussion protocols and they let players talk about it. I think the problem is there's a very limited range of things they can actually do."

'Concussion' director says changes on horizon for NFL

 

[Remodeling Maidiac]

Will not support propaganda that will destroy sports in this country. Athletes know the risks but choose the money.

 

[waltky]

New blood test can detect concussion...

Blood Test Detects Concussions
March 30, 2016 - A new blood test has been developed to tell doctors whether someone has had a concussion up to a week after the injury. Head trauma symptoms can often be subtle, and even delayed, especially in children. Treatment in the form of rest is important in helping to heal the brain after injury.

The blood test, developed by physicians at Orlando Health system in Florida, detects a biomarker called glial fibrillary acidic protein or GFAP. GAFP is unique to the brain and nervous system and is released after a concussion. Researchers analyzing the blood of 600 patients found the biomarker was present in those who had sustained a head injury.

Concussion, without rest for a few days, can lead to long-term bouts of dizziness, headaches and insomnia. Memory loss, cognitive difficulties and even anxiety have also been reported in concussion patients who try to resume normal activities, like school or work, too soon.

Concussion is a common injury in contact sports, and a blood test soon after a head injury could help doctors detect the condition that might otherwise go undiagnosed. A study describing the blood test is published in the journal JAMA Neurology.

Blood Test Detects Concussions

 

[waltky]

New 1 minute concussion detecting device...

Speedy Eye-tracking Device Seeks to Detect Concussions
April 20, 2016 : Tool to analyze visual response is first of its kind to get green light from US Food and Drug Administration as concerns grow over brain injuries in contact sports

A newly-approved device using infrared cameras to track eye movements promises to help detect concussions in one minute, offering a speedy insight into whether athletes have sustained the injury. Boston-based neuro-technology company SyncThink got clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in February for its first device, "Eye-Sync," the first of its kind to get the green light from the authority amid growing concerns over brain injuries in contact sports. Head trauma affects the brain's anticipatory neural network, which guides human reactions, and the tool focuses on analyzing visual response.

"Eye-Sync," a newly-approved device using infrared cameras to track eye movements, promises to help detect concussions in one minute​

The user puts on a virtual reality headset connected to a computer tablet, with a moving circle appearing in the display. As the user follows the circle, the cameras follow the eyes and the data collected is compared against a baseline of normal eye movement for diagnosis. "Our assessment data is collected at a very high rate which allows us to produce a full assessment within one minute," Dan Beeler, SyncThink chief technology officer, told Reuters.

Symptoms, long-term dangers

Symptoms of concussions, a mild form of traumatic brain injury sustained with a blow to the head, can vary from headaches and confusion to slurred speech and vomiting. In certain instances, symptoms can take days to appear. Concussions can be difficult to diagnose, leaving athletes at higher risk of a more serious brain injury if they continue to perform concussed. Last month, a top National Football League official acknowledged a link between football-related concussions and the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in testimony at a U.S. congressional hearing.

In other contact sports — such as rugby, soccer and Australian rules football — there is a growing awareness of the risks posed by concussion, with several sports changing their rules or adopting new protocols to ensure a higher level of player safety. "There is much more awareness of the risks out there, a growing acceptance of those risks and ways to mitigate them, and our technology can play a part in that," Beeler said. "The technology we have built into this device has been developed over the past decade and we have been very careful about it." The company has been working with the U.S. military and university sports teams on the device, which costs $25,000. It is not the only company looking at such equipment. New York-based Oculogica is developing a "patent-pending eye-tracking technology" to help detect concussions and traumatic brain injury.

Speedy Eye-tracking Device Seeks to Detect Concussions

 

[Muhammed]

NFL pulls funding from concussion study...

NFL reportedly pulls $30M funding for brain injury study
Dec. 22, 2015 - A study conducted by the National Institutes of Health on the relationship between football and brain disease will move forward without a $30 million research grant from the NFL.

ESPN's "Outside the Lines" reported Tuesday that the NFL grant in 2012 was to be used for the seven-year, $16 million project. However, the league backed out of that study when the NIH awarded the project to a group led by a prominent Boston University researcher who has been outspoken against the league. "Outside the Lines" cited sources in saying the NFL reversed its previous position that the funds could be used for research with no strings attached. ESPN quoted NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy as saying the NIH made "its own funding decisions."

The NIH announced in a press released Tuesday that the project would go forward and the ultimate goal remains the ability to diagnose chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in living patients. Posthumous studies of the brain in former NFL players, including prominent suicide victims Junior Seau and Dave Duerson, were found to be impacted by CTE.

Robert Stern, a professor of neurology and neurosurgery at Boston University, is the lead researcher. Vocal is only the beginning of his position on the NFL and head injuries. He wrote that commissioner Roger Goodell inherited a concussion cover-up from Paul Tagliabue and when a concussion settlement was first announced, Stern filed a 61-page letter of opposition. In that declaration, he said he opposed leaving out the many players who were or would be disabled by CTE. ESPN reportedly had concerns over Stern's objectivity, but in the same report Tuesday said that Stern had cleared a vetting process and "scientific merit review" plus another evaluation by a dozen high-level experts assembled by the NIH.

NFL reportedly pulls $30M funding for brain injury study

It's just common sense. What fucking reason is there to continue a study when the result is already known?

Yes, suffering traumatic injury to your brain may have long-term consequences.

Case closed. /Study

 

[independent minded]

NFL pulls funding from concussion study...

NFL reportedly pulls $30M funding for brain injury study
Dec. 22, 2015 - A study conducted by the National Institutes of Health on the relationship between football and brain disease will move forward without a $30 million research grant from the NFL.

ESPN's "Outside the Lines" reported Tuesday that the NFL grant in 2012 was to be used for the seven-year, $16 million project. However, the league backed out of that study when the NIH awarded the project to a group led by a prominent Boston University researcher who has been outspoken against the league. "Outside the Lines" cited sources in saying the NFL reversed its previous position that the funds could be used for research with no strings attached. ESPN quoted NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy as saying the NIH made "its own funding decisions."

The NIH announced in a press released Tuesday that the project would go forward and the ultimate goal remains the ability to diagnose chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in living patients. Posthumous studies of the brain in former NFL players, including prominent suicide victims Junior Seau and Dave Duerson, were found to be impacted by CTE.

Robert Stern, a professor of neurology and neurosurgery at Boston University, is the lead researcher. Vocal is only the beginning of his position on the NFL and head injuries. He wrote that commissioner Roger Goodell inherited a concussion cover-up from Paul Tagliabue and when a concussion settlement was first announced, Stern filed a 61-page letter of opposition. In that declaration, he said he opposed leaving out the many players who were or would be disabled by CTE. ESPN reportedly had concerns over Stern's objectivity, but in the same report Tuesday said that Stern had cleared a vetting process and "scientific merit review" plus another evaluation by a dozen high-level experts assembled by the NIH.

NFL reportedly pulls $30M funding for brain injury study

It's just common sense. What fucking reason is there to continue a study when the result is already known?

Yes, suffering traumatic injury to your brain may have long-term consequences.

Case closed. /Study

I think it's important to continue the study, and to do whatever it takes to mitigate the long-term risks of serious injuries and their consequences to players. Safety also has to be much more emphasized, in sports, generally.

 

[Muhammed]

NFL pulls funding from concussion study...

NFL reportedly pulls $30M funding for brain injury study
Dec. 22, 2015 - A study conducted by the National Institutes of Health on the relationship between football and brain disease will move forward without a $30 million research grant from the NFL.

ESPN's "Outside the Lines" reported Tuesday that the NFL grant in 2012 was to be used for the seven-year, $16 million project. However, the league backed out of that study when the NIH awarded the project to a group led by a prominent Boston University researcher who has been outspoken against the league. "Outside the Lines" cited sources in saying the NFL reversed its previous position that the funds could be used for research with no strings attached. ESPN quoted NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy as saying the NIH made "its own funding decisions."

The NIH announced in a press released Tuesday that the project would go forward and the ultimate goal remains the ability to diagnose chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in living patients. Posthumous studies of the brain in former NFL players, including prominent suicide victims Junior Seau and Dave Duerson, were found to be impacted by CTE.

Robert Stern, a professor of neurology and neurosurgery at Boston University, is the lead researcher. Vocal is only the beginning of his position on the NFL and head injuries. He wrote that commissioner Roger Goodell inherited a concussion cover-up from Paul Tagliabue and when a concussion settlement was first announced, Stern filed a 61-page letter of opposition. In that declaration, he said he opposed leaving out the many players who were or would be disabled by CTE. ESPN reportedly had concerns over Stern's objectivity, but in the same report Tuesday said that Stern had cleared a vetting process and "scientific merit review" plus another evaluation by a dozen high-level experts assembled by the NIH.

NFL reportedly pulls $30M funding for brain injury study

It's just common sense. What fucking reason is there to continue a study when the result is already known?

Yes, suffering traumatic injury to your brain may have long-term consequences.

Case closed. /Study

I think it's important to continue the study, and to do whatever it takes to mitigate the long-term risks of serious injuries and their consequences to players. Safety also has to be much more emphasized, in sports, generally.

The NFL has already modified the rules of the game in order to reduce the incidences traumatic brain injury. And those rules tend to trickle down to the college, high school and even the little league football levels.

But now that I think about it more you do have a good point. The studies should continue.