Second impact syndrome (SIS) can have in-an-instant, tragic consequences. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), on the other hand, can have slow and heartbreaking consequences.
Turn Text Only Off
Page Utilities
Click on any phrase to play the video at that point.
Second Impact Syndrome involves two mild head injuries
or concussions, mild traumatic brain injuries
are also referred to, in close proximity to each other.
Typically, the literature suggests that
Second Impact Syndrome happens when
an athlete has been injured early in a game
and then maybe later in the game.
We did not see that the person had that
injury originally and they get an injury on top of it.
It also can happen, though, within days of the first injury.
So if you've had one injury and then 4 days later
have another mild concussion,
you may end up with Second Impact Syndrome.
Second Impact Syndrome is a catastrophic
reaction in the second exposure.
What that really means is we have
a massive intracranial
pressure, and that involves
autoregulatory systems
in the vascular system.
When that happens, a player, in fact,
can die or have a very, very
catastrophic outcome due to this intracranial pressure.
So it looks like a very severe head injury,
even though it's been only two mild head injuries.
This is different, though, than what
we talk about with regard to the cumulative effects in the brain.
The cumulative effects, we believe at this point,
can relate to
a degenerative neurologic condition,
which is called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.
In this, there is a
change in brain tissue
that is not related to intracranial pressure
or bleeding or any autoregulatory problem,
but it is, rather, a degeneration of
tissue over time based on the fact
that the person has had multiple
concussive or subconcussive events.
The difficulty, of course, with
studying this is you
can't do an experimental design to give
some group of athletes
a lot of concussions
and have other players that don't
get concussions and compare them 30 years down the line
as to what their brain looks like.
The interesting research that's going on with
Dr. McKee and others
shows us, though, that some professional athletes
that have died at early ages
of unrelated causes,
their brains, in fact,
look like they have
a severe degenerative neurologic
condition, much like Alzheimer's disease,
but it is different histologically in some respects.
Produced by Victoria Tilney McDonough and Brian King, BrainLine.
Jeffrey Barth, PhD, ABPP-CN holds the position of professor and co-director of the Neurocognitive Assessment Laboratory, and section head, Neurocognitive Studies in the Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences, with a joint appointment in the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of Virginia School of Medicine.
The contents of Brainline (the “Web Site”), such as text, graphics, images, information obtained from the Web Site’s licensors and/or consultants, and other material contained on the Web Site (collectively, the “Content”) are for informational purposes only. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for medical, legal, or other professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Specifically, with regards to medical issues, always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on the Web Site. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or 911 immediately. The Web Site does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on the Web Site. Reliance on any information provided by the Web Site or by employees, volunteers or contractors or others associated with the Web Site and/or other visitors to the Web Site is solely at your own risk.
Related Content
Audio/Video:
“Brown Is Bad, Brown Is Cell Death.” The “brown” is tau, a protein that accumulates in the brains of people, like professional football players and boxers, who have sustained repeat blows to the head. Learn about the research and education going on at the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, a collaboration between Boston University School of Medicine and the Sports Legacy Institute. See all videos interviews with Dr. Ann McKee.- Game Changers
- CTE is a neurodegeneration, a brain disease that's progressive and characterized by a build-up of a protein called tau. See all video interviews with Dr. Ann McKee.
- What Is Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy?
- Tau protein shows up in the brain in other neurodegenerative diseases, but only in this unique, tangled pattern in CTE.
See all videos interviews with Dr. Ann McKee.
- What Is Tau and Its Role in Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy?
- If your brain doesn't get to recover properly from one concussion before sustaining another concussion -- even a seemingly mild one -- the damage can be far worse, long-lasting, even fatal. Produced by Vicky Youcha and Brian King.
Transcript of this video.
- Second Impact Syndrome in Children
- Dr. James Kelly is professor of Neurosurgery and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine and associate director of the Colorado Area Health Education Center System. This is BrainLine's exclusive interview with Dr. Kelly recorded on July 11, 2008. Transcript of this video.
- Dr. James Kelly Talks About Second Impact Syndrome
- After "11 wonderful seasons" Jason Belser retired from the NFL. "I had four concussions, but I still have all my memories. Clear as day."
Transcript of this video.
- Jason Belser Explains Why He Retired from the NFL
- Jason Belser played 11 seasons in the NFL and is now an executive with the National Football League Players Association. Here he discusses why athletes might resist leaving the game after a possible concussion. Produced by Brian King and Noel Gunther. Transcript of this video.
- Jason Belser Discusses Concussion and the NFL
Articles:
BrainLine Footer
Getting Started |
Site Features |
Follow Us |
About |
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
YouTube
RSS Feeds
BrainLine.org is a WETA website funded by the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center through a contract with the Henry M. Jackson Foundation. Government funding support is not an endorsement of WETA or any of its products, including this website.
© 2013 WETA All Rights Reserved
