News Headlines

Warrior Games Hits Recovery Bull's Eye
Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System / May 16, 2013

The slow, smooth pull of string, a moment to sight in on the bull’s eye 18 meters away, and like lighting an arrow thuds into its target. Although British archers were present, it was not Robin Hood and his band of merry men stealing riches, it was a collection of wounded, ill and injured veterans at this year’s Warrior Games held in Colorado Springs, Colo. “I did the trial last year and I loved it,” said Richard Stalder, a Marine team archer. “ I since have gotten out of the Marine Corps and coming back to see my brothers and compete is awesome.”

Warrior Games 2013: Airman Faces Challenge at Games as TBI Victim
US Air Force / May 20, 2013

By looking at him, you would never be able to tell he is a battle-tested, combat-injured Airman. He is a testament to invisible wounds and just how their effects can become visible in everyday life. Capt. Mitchell Kieffer is a mathematician at heart and an operations research analyst at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va. The three-time Air Force triathlete and personal trainer was stationed at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., working at the Air Force Research Laboratory there when he got the opportunity he had been waiting for - a deployment. He had volunteered to go into an engineering job at AFRL to increase his chances of deploying. He got his wish in 2010 and left for Iraq with a team from the Army Corps of Engineers.

Trial Under Way for Brain Cooling Cap Which May Reduce Stroke Damage
STV News / May 3, 2013

A trial is being held to see if cooling the brain can help reduce damage in stroke patients. The University of Edinburgh are carrying out the trial on healthy volunteers to measure the rate of brain cooling. Mr Waleij said: "We are opening the door to a new world of advanced healing that could improve quality of life for people with stroke, traumatic brain injury, cardiac arrest, and neonatal asphyxia."

The Brain of a Bomber: Did Damage Caused by Boxing Play a Role in the Boston Bombings?
Time / April 24, 2013

Tamerlan Tsarnaev is telling no tales. The older of the two brothers who committed the Boston Marathon bombings was likely the one who planned the attack, but when he died in a shootout with police just days after the blasts, his thoughts and motivations vanished with him. But the brain that was home to his angry mind remains, and in this case that may mean something. Tsarnaev was an amateur boxer who won the New England Golden Gloves competition as recently as 2009 and 2010. That speaks to a young man with a healthy sense of discipline and focus, and if he had a violent streak, it was violence well-channeled. But his sport of choice suggests the possibility of something else too: traumatic brain injury.

Texas May Begin Restricting Contact in High School Football Practices
Education Week / May 13, 2013

High school football coaches in Texas could soon be facing restrictions on the amount of full contact allowed in practices per week, assuming the University Interscholastic League medical advisory committee has its way. Last month, the UIL committee unanimously recommended limiting high school teams to 90 minutes of full-contact, game-speed practices per week during the regular season and the playoffs, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Such practices would be defined as those that include tackling and blocking to the ground. The UIL Legislative Council will consider the proposal in June. If approved, state commissioner of education Michael L. Williams would be the one responsible for signing the proposal into effect.

Study Finds Increase in Fall-Related Traumatic Brain Injuries Among Elderly Men and Women
Science Codex / May 8, 2013

"Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of hospitalization, disability, and death-worldwide, and among older adults, falling is the most common cause of TBI," writes Niina Korhonen, B.M., of the Injury and Osteoporosis Research Center, Tampere, Finland, and colleagues in a Research Letter. The authors previously reported that the number and incidence of adults 80 years of age or older admitted to the hospital due to fall-induced TBI in Finland increased from 1970 through 1999. This analysis is a follow-up of this population through 2011. The study included data from the Finnish National Hospital Discharge Register, a nationwide, computer-based register that provides data for severe injuries among the Finnish population.

Soilders' Art: What Traumatic Brain Injury Feels Like
60 Minutes, CBS / May 6, 2013

Active-duty military members suffering from PTSD and traumatic brain injuries made these masks in an art therapy group at the National Intrepid Center of Excellence, located at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.

Sex Lives Often an Overlooked Casualty of Traumatic Brain Injury
US News & World Report / April 30, 2013

For the more than 3 million Americans living with traumatic brain injury, there is often an unspoken problem: Many suffer from sexual dysfunction, something that is easily overlooked as patients struggle with overwhelming physical and emotional issues that can last for years, new research has found. The sexual difficulties usually become most apparent about six months after the injury and, if left unaddressed, worsen with time, said study author Jhon Alexander Moreno, a researcher in neuropsychology at the University of Montreal.

Scientists Hunt for Ways to Untangle Damage of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy
Pittsburg Post-Gazette / May 13, 2013

Bennet Omalu was the first pathologist in the world to detect CTE in a former football player. The year was 2002, and the player was former Steelers center Mike Webster, who had died of a heart attack at the age of 50. Dr. Omalu was a young pathologist working for former Allegheny County Coroner Cyril H. Wecht. As a Nigerian native, he knew very little about American football, except that it was a brutal head-banging sport. Given the reports he had heard about Webster's erratic behavior before his death, he figured the autopsy might show visible evidence of brain damage.

Ronald and Irene Ward Foundation $1.6M Donation Creates New Labs for Pediatric Brain Injury Research
PR Newswire / May 2, 2013

New research to help children suffering from brain injuries such as severe head trauma, concussion and stroke is now underway at the University of Calgary-Alberta Health Services' Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute for Child and Maternal Health (ACHRI), thanks to a generous $1.6 million donation from the Ronald and Irene Ward Foundation. "Our vision is to find better ways to prevent, treat and even reverse the devastating impact of brain-related illness and injury," said Dr. Brent Scott, Director of ACHRI and Husky Energy Chair in Child and Maternal Health. "We're grateful to the Ward Foundation for its leadership in helping us achieve those goals."

Rising Sports Star Struck Down By Concussion
FOX2now / May 3, 2013

Doctors say 90 percent of people who suffer a concussion make a full recovery within 7-10 days. For the other ten percent, the recovery can be slow and agonizing. John Hogan, 22, falls into the latter category. He’s battled symptoms for two years. John Hogan grew up wanting to play pro baseball and he was enjoying success as he reached for his dream. Hogan had a great career at Vianney High School, starred on the Rawlings Prospects traveling team and then headed for Austin Peay in the Ohio Valley Conference. Hogan was impressive in his first two years at the division one school, landing all-conference honors as a first baseman. A collision at first base near the end of his second season would change everything. John says everything got blurry, but real bright. He felt "zoned out". John didn’t know what was wrong. The diagnosis of a concussion would come months later.

NFL Retirees Happy with Football Career Despite Lasting Pain
The Washington Post / May 20, 2013

A survey of NFL retirees finds broad satisfaction with playing in the league, even as many report continuing pain from football careers.

New Technology Uses Wireless Signals to Diagnose Traumatic Brain Injury
Medical Daily / May 16, 2013

New technology is using wireless signals to provide real-time, noninvasive diagnoses of brain swelling or bleeding. The device analyzes data from low-energy electromagnetic waves, similar to the kind used to transmit radio and mobile signals. "Our goal is inexpensive medicine for Mexico," said Boris Rubinsky, a professor at UC Berkeley's Department of Mechanical Engineering. He led the research team along with César A. González, a professor at the Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Escuela Superior de Medicina (National Polytechnic Institute's Superior School of Medicine) in Mexico. The authors noted that in Mexico, 40.7 percent of the population is lacking access to health services; medical imaging in particular is not available to over 60 percent of the world population.

New Technology Uses Wireless Signals to Diagnose Traumatic Brain Injury
Medical Today / May 15, 2013

New technology is using wireless signals to provide real-time, noninvasive diagnoses of brain swelling or bleeding. The device analyzes data from low-energy electromagnetic waves, similar to the kind used to transmit radio and mobile signals. "Our goal is inexpensive medicine for Mexico," said Boris Rubinsky, a professor at UC Berkeley's Department of Mechanical Engineering. He led the research team along with César A. González, a professor at the Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Escuela Superior de Medicina (National Polytechnic Institute's Superior School of Medicine) in Mexico. The authors noted that in Mexico, 40.7 percent of the population is lacking access to health services; medical imaging in particular is not available to over 60 percent of the world population.

Neuralstem, NFL Alumni Association to Test Feasibility of Traumatic Brain Injury Treatment
The Huffington Post / April 25, 2013

A potential treatment for traumatic brain injuries may be tested in retired professional football players, who are the focus of concern over blows to the head. Neuralstem, Inc., of Rockville, Md., said Wednesday it is working with the National Football League Alumni Association to study the feasibility of such a test, which would need government approval. It would involve a drug that's now in an early human trial for treating depression. In animal studies, the drug appeared to stimulate creation of brain cells. Concern has mounted about brain injuries and disease in former NFL players, driven in part by some high-profile suicides. Thousands of former players are suing the league and its teams, saying that for years the NFL did not do enough to protect players from concussions.

Military Discharges, Rather than Treats
San Francisco Chronicle / May 22, 2013

The U.S. Army has discharged escalating numbers of traumatized combat veterans who commit crimes and in ways that make them ineligible for Veterans Administration health assistance, The Gazette of Colorado Springs reports. The Gazette found that the numbers of combat veterans discharged has risen since 2006. Many have post-traumatic stress disorder or brain damage. An unknown number of those veterans have committed crimes since returning to the United States. More than 13,000 have been discharged them under a provision called Chapter 10, which prevents them from being eligible for Veterans Administration benefits that include treatment for combat-related psychiatric disorders. It's unclear how many suffered from combat-related wounds that may have driven them to misconduct.

Maryland Board Adopts Regulations to Better Protect Student-Athletes from Concussions
The Washington Post / May 23, 2013

The Maryland State Board of Education adopted regulations Tuesday to better protect student-athletes from concussions by requiring that school systems provide more training to coaches and other instructors and strengthen protocols for addressing head injuries. In addition, the state board plans to convene an advisory group to recommend limits on contact exposure in sports in which concussions can occur. The unanimous vote came after a months-long process, which included the adoption of emergency regulations and the formation of a 21-member task force of physicians, athletic trainers and school administrators.

Love, Light, Strength (and Glue)
The New York Times / May 6, 2013

Five years ago, my husband, Miles, who led a tree crew, could work like a horse. A normal week for him was 60-plus hours. In his spare time he built fences and decks for our fixer-upper house. Meanwhile, I fed the kids and ran them around, shopped at Home Depot and paid the bills. Life was hectic but fun. Then one day Miles was overseeing a complicated removal when two trees crashed down in a way they weren’t supposed to, and an 80-pound branch struck him squarely in the forehead. He spent two months at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, first in the intensive-care unit, then surgery and finally inpatient rehabilitation. During this time, the only thoughts I allowed myself were in the form of a mantra: “Love, Light, Strength.” I’d say it over and over in the shower or while driving when I recognized fear creeping in.

Invisible Wounds of War
60 Minutes, CBS / May 6, 2013

We all learned a lot in recent years about the dangers of head injuries from contact sports like football. We now know that a hard hit can cause brain damage that only becomes apparent after an athlete's playing days are over. Football is violent, no doubt, but it's nothing compared to war. And just as the National Football League has struggled to come to grips with head injuries so has the military - but on a much vaster scale. An estimated quarter million servicemen and women have suffered concussions over the past decade of war. Tens of thousands -- no one knows the precise number -- are dealing with lasting brain damage. The Pentagon, which did not recognize the problem until the war in Iraq was almost over, is now scrambling to treat these invisible wounds. And soldiers suffering from them sometimes end up wishing they had a wound people could see.

In Suit Over Death, Boogaard's Family Blames the NHL
The New York Times / May 13, 2013

The family of Derek Boogaard has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the National Hockey League. It contends that the N.H.L. is responsible for the physical trauma and brain damage that Boogaard sustained during six seasons as one of the league’s top enforcers, and for the addiction to prescription painkillers that marked his final two years. Boogaard was under contract to the Rangers when he was found dead of an accidental overdose of prescription painkillers and alcohol on May 13, 2011. He was 28. He was posthumously found to have chronic traumatic encephalopathy or C.T.E., a brain disease caused by repeated blows to the head.

In Brawl for Seau Brain, a Proxy War Over Concussion Science
PBS / April 30, 2013

Inside the autopsy room of the San Diego County medical examiner’s office, Bennet Omalu, a forensic pathologist, carefully sliced Junior Seau’s brain with a long knife. It was late morning on May 3, 2012; Seau’s autopsy, which began just after 9, was nearly over. Omalu wore dark blue scrubs, rubber gloves and a clear plastic face mask as he went about his work in the cool, windowless room, picking up half of Seau’s brain and placing it in a small tub filled with formaldehyde and water. Omalu, 44, was the first researcher to identify brain damage in a former NFL player. When he published his results, in July 2005, the NFL attacked him and insisted he was wrong. His research has since been vindicated many times over, with each new discovery of the crippling neurodegenerative disease in a dead football player. Omalu arrived at Seau’s autopsy with a special “brain briefcase” he carries on such occasions. His intention was to fly Seau’s brain back to San Francisco that night and share it with a Nobel Prize-winning researcher who also coveted the valuable specimen.

Imaging Technique Could Help Traumatic Brain Injury Patients
University of California San Francisco / May 10, 2013

A new application of an existing medical imaging technology could help predict long-term damage in patients with traumatic brain injury, according to a recent UC San Francisco study. The authors of the study analyzed brain scans using applied rapid automated resting state magnetoencephalography (MEG) imaging, a technique used to map brain activity by recording magnetic fields produced by natural electrical currents in the brain. They discovered "abnormally decreased functional connectivity" – or possible long-term brain damage – could persist years after a person suffers even a mild form of traumatic brain injury. "We were hoping that areas of abnormal brain activity would match up with some of the functional measures such as patients' symptoms after injury, and we saw such correlation," said senior author Pratik Mukherjee, MD, PhD, associate professor in residence at the UCSF School of Medicine.

Hormone Therapy Could Help Soldiers with PTSD
KRMG.com / April 25, 2013

Soldiers who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder might have a damaged pituitary gland as a result of a concussion or Traumatic Brain Injury from an explosion, according to recent research from doctors. The condition results in what's known as hypopituitarism, in which a person's brain doesn't generate the right mix of homones that control anxiety, depression, etc. The diagnosis is something we're pretty confident of right now," said Dr. Bill Ruwe with the VA Hospital in Oklahoma City.  "But the treatment for that is something that would await further research."

Homeless People Have 400 Times Higher Risk of Head Injuries, Say Statistics
Medical Daily / May 17, 2013

Shocking statistics from Canadian researchers indicate that chronically homeless men who drink heavily have 400 times the number of head injuries as the general population. What's more, the rate of traumatic brain injuries with internal bleeding is 300 times higher than among average Canadian men, and the rate of severe head injuries is 170 times as high. In a study published in the Emergency Medicine Journal, researchers led by Dr. Tomislav Svoboda, of St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, detail findings about head injuries in the general homeless population and among those who live in low-income housing. "We were shocked by the number if [sic] head injuries," said Dr. Tomislav in a news release. "In medicine, we worry when something occurs two or three times more often in a particular patient group, but to talk about magnitudes of 300 or 400 is unheard of."

Hidden Threats to Young Athletes
The New York Times / May 13, 2013

In February, hundreds of youth sports safety advocates convened at a Washington hotel. They were determined to talk about something other than concussions, a counterintuitive ambition considering the rampant worry about the effects of head trauma in young athletes. But the Washington group knew something most do not: the No. 1 killer of young athletes is sudden cardiac arrest, typically brought on by a pre-existing, detectable condition that could have been treated. Another substantial yet hidden lethal threat is heat stroke, a condition considered completely preventable. Concussions are receiving attention nationwide, but death from a blow to the head is exceedingly rare. In contrast, a young athlete dies from a cardiac incident once every three days in the United States, researchers say. In hot months like August, heat stroke often causes the death of a young athlete every other day on average.

Grant to Fund Nanotech Therapies for Traumatic Brain Injuries
MIT News / May 13, 2013

The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded $6 million to a team of researchers, including MIT’s Sangeeta Bhatia, to develop nanotechnology therapies for the treatment of traumatic brain injury and associated infections. The award brings together a multi-disciplinary team of renowned experts in laboratory research, translational investigation and clinical medicine led by Michael J. Sailor, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD). The team also includes Erkki Ruoslahti of Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute and Clark C. Chen of the UCSD School of Medicine.

Get Your Head Out of the Game
Slate / April 25, 2013

On Saturday night, in the 90th minute of a game between the Washington Spirit and the Western New York Flash, Abby Wambach took a ferocious ball to the head. The Flash striker, and the biggest star in the latest incarnation of a women’s pro soccer league, wasn’t trying to score. She was struck by a line-drive clearance by a teammate just a few yards away. Wambach toppled like a tree and rolled into the fetal position, grabbing her head. One of the game’s broadcasters chuckled, noting that “these last couple minutes have been a bit chaotic.” The referee, Kari Seitz, a veteran of four women’s World Cups and three Olympics, raised her right palm to stop the Flash’s trainer from coming onto the field. After half a minute, Wambach stood and took a few tentative steps. Play resumed. The Flash moved the ball downfield and, in a last-second attempt to break a 1-1 tie, Wambach tried to score off of a corner kick. Using her head.

Former Patriots, Redskins Linebacker Timothy Petersen Adds Name to Growing List of NFL Concussion Plaintiffs
The Pennsylvania Record / May 15, 2013

A former NFL linebacker who played the game in the 1970s and ‘80s has become one of the latest retired football players to sue the league over claims that it intentionally misled athletes on the long-term health risks associated with repeated on-the-field head trauma. Timothy Petersen, a Colorado resident who had a career with the New England Patriots and the Washington Redskins, claims the repeated hits and blows to the head he suffered during his playing years led to present-day health problems. As a result of the head trauma, his lawsuit claims, Petersen suffers from symptoms associated with multiple traumatic brain injury and CTE, including lesions on his brain that have adversely impacted his memory.

Food Stamp Cuts Feared by Veterans
The Huffington Post / May 22, 2013

Veterans have a reminder for the Senate as it takes up plans to cut food stamps by $4.1 billion this week: The aid has been -- and still is -- vital to people who served their country. For Iraq veteran Don Martinez, 33, food stamps kept his children fed while he struggled with getting recognition for the traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress he suffered after close encounters with several rocket and mortar attacks and a humvee rollover. "Coming off the second deployment back into civilian life, we just had to do what we had to do," said Martinez, an artillery captain, recalling how in 2006 the military did not recognize the severity of his disabilities. For several years, Martinez said, the military paid him only a fraction of what he needed to support his family while he sought treatment.

Family of Utah Soccer Referee Who Died Holds Vigil; Calls on Players to Control Tempers
The Washington Post / May 6, 2013

The oldest daughter of the Utah soccer referee who died Saturday a week after a teenage player punched him in the head hopes to forgive the young man who did it — but not yet. “I will, but not today; it’s too soon,” said Johana Portillo, 26, speaking Sunday night at a vigil to honor her father, Ricardo Portillo. “He was a father, he was a friend, he was a grandfather; he left a whole family behind. They should think before they do something stupid.”  Police have accused a 17-year-old player in a recreational soccer league of punching Ricardo Portillo, 46, after he called a foul on him and issued him a yellow card. Portillo died Saturday night after a week in a coma.

Eyes May Provide NewInsight into Brain Problems
The Seattle Times / May 14, 2013

The eyes may be the window to the soul, but researchers are finding they also provide a view into the brain that could help detect neurological damage from bomb blasts, sports concussions and a wide range of diseases, including Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis. If initial results are borne out, it might eventually be possible to use simple eye tests to evaluate soldiers, athletes or accident victims and to monitor the effectiveness of drugs and other treatments, several scientists said Sunday in Seattle at a meeting of the world’s largest vision-research organization.

DOD Continues TBI Research, Education, Treatment
Defense.gov News / May 10, 2013

The Defense Department is committed to providing the best medical care and recovery for service members with traumatic brain injury, DOD's top doctor said in a statement issued yesterday. Following a 60 Minutes segment on the treatment of traumatic brain injury that aired May 5, Dr. Jonathan Woodson, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, said all service members will receive specialized care for any type of TBI, from mild concussions to severe head injuries that require "extensive specialized care at one of our research facilities for the rare instances."

Do No Harm: Retired NFL Players Endure a Lifetime of Hurt
The Washington Post / May 20, 2013

They remember the hard hits – most of them, at least. The brain-rattlers that left them blank-eyed and disoriented, they have no recollection of at all. But the ones that snapped ligaments, rendered bones the consistency of crushed ice or bent joints in ways they ought not to bend are still felt every morning years later. A career in the National Football League creates echoes good and bad. Some reverberate in medical records, others in luxuries from rich contracts. But the most vivid ones for many former players come when they get out of bed each day and put their feet on the floor. If the NFL confers wealth – a rookie’s base pay next season will be $405,000 – it exacts a heavy price: lifelong hurt. A Washington Post survey of retired NFL players found that nearly nine in 10 report suffering from aches and pains on a daily basis, and they overwhelmingly – 91 percent – connect nearly all their pains to football.

Concussion: State Laws Ignore Science
Medpage Today / May 21, 2013

State lawmakers are moving quickly to enact traumatic brain injury legislation aimed at protecting young athletes, but those laws are often a step ahead of the available science, researchers reported. During a 4-year period from January 2009 through December 2011 44 states and Washington, DC enacted traumatic brain injury laws, reported Hosea H. Harvey, JD, PhD, at Temple University Beasley School of Law in Philadelphia. "Youth sports traumatic brain injury laws have generally taken a one-size-fits-all approach," Harvey wrote online in the American Journal of Public Health. "The laws do not incorporate scientific consensus that youth concussions vary on the basis of age, the type of sport, and whether the athlete is male or female."

Call to Test Inmates for Brain Injury
The Age, Victoria, Australia / April 26, 2013

The state's public advocate is calling for all prisoners to be routinely checked for all cognitive impairments, including acquired brain injuries and intellectual disabilities, when they enter jail. Colleen Pearce heads the independent body the Victorian government set up to protect the rights of people with a disability. She said it was critical to identify impairments early on to ensure prisoners received effective support and to prevent them from reoffending when released, because there were higher and more severe rates of cognitive impairments in prisons than in the community. "Without [routine screening], people with cognitive impairments can get trapped in a revolving door of endless contact with police and prisons with attendant costs to the community and, worse, the loss of their potential as contributing community members,'' she said.

Bryce Harper Gives the Nationals Another Scare
The Washington Post / May 14, 2013

The first thing Bryce Harper wanted to know was, “Is it bad?” That’s what he kept asking Denard Span, the first person who reached Harper last night after he ran into the right field wall. As Harper lay motionless, his manager was concerned he had a concussion. Blood started to trickle down Harper’s neck. Span would later thank God that Harper was not carried off the field on a stretcher, that he had 11 stitches and no concussion, and could walk off without assistance. When he rose to his feet, though, Harper did the kind of thing that defines him. In a 6-0 game in mid-May, as blood formed a morbid necklace under his chin, Harper pleaded with Davey Johnson to let him keep playing.

Baffling Rise in Suicides Plagues the US Military
The New York Times / May 16, 2013

After Specialist Freddy Hook, a medic with the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, killed himself in 2010, the trail of possible causes seemed long. He had used illegal drugs: Was it the demons of addiction? His rocky relationship with his fiancée? A wrenching deployment to earthquake-ravaged Haiti or the prospect of an impending tour in Afghanistan? As with most of suicides plaguing the military today, no one will know for sure. “There are so many factors,” said his mother, Theresa Taylor, of Lafayette, La. “Everything that was important to him was having problems.”

 

Anecdotal Evidence Provides Clues to Youth Concussions
The New York Times / May 9, 2013

Youth sports concussion clinics operate at the center of America’s heightened awareness and increasing worry about concussions among young athletes. Listening to the hundreds of stories of how concussions have occurred, examining patients and monitoring their recoveries, the doctors and staff members are a repository of anecdotal and medical concussion information. Here are some of their observations after watching the concussion phenomenon from the inside. Although it is not clinical data arrived at scientifically, it is meant to capture a picture of general findings.

Aiming at the Top, Again
The New York Times / May 17, 2013

On Wall Street, the wheel of fortune can spin around and around, from enormous cash bonuses and luxurious perks one year to the unemployment line the next. Then there is Fred Eckert, a onetime Goldman Sachs partner who soared as a star in “vulture” investing in ailing companies. But in the turmoil of the financial crisis, his business and wealth came crashing down. By 2011, he was bankrupt, divorced and, for two months, in a coma. Today, he is in better shape, earning $1 million a year from a consulting job, although that expires next year. But most of his income is dedicated to paying leftover debts — he says he is running at “break-even at best” after expenses.

After Taking Blow to Head, Twins 3B Trevor Plouffe Placed on 7-Day DL with Concussion
The Washington Post / May 23, 2013

The Minnesota Twins placed third baseman Trevor Plouffe on the seven-day disabled list with a concussion Wednesday after he was struck in the head by Dan Uggla’s shin while breaking up an attempted double play. Plouffe was injured in the 10th inning of Tuesday night’s 5-4 loss to the Atlanta Braves. He slammed into Uggla’s leg sliding into second base and remained down for a few minutes before walking slowly to the dugout, holding his head. During an examination for concussion-related symptoms, Plouffe showed sensitivity to light. He said he was “feeling better” a day later, but Twins weren’t taking any chances.

A Whistle, a Punch, and a Soccer Referee Is Dead
The New York Times / May 7, 2013

A little more than a week after a 17-year-old soccer player punched a recreation-league referee in the head in suburban Salt Lake City, the referee is dead, the player faces charges, and youth sports are left with questions about the seeming rise in severity of assaults on officials. Ricardo Portillo, the 46-year-old referee, is only the second official in the United States known to have died as a result of referee assault, according to the National Association of Sports Officials. But Barry Mano, the organization’s president, said that many serious assaults went unreported, and Portillo’s eldest daughter, Johana, said her father had been assaulted before, sustaining broken ribs in another on-field attack about five years ago. The New York Times

A New Way to Care for Young Brains
The New York Times / May 6, 2013

The drumbeat of alarming stories linking concussions among football players and other athletes to brain disease has led to a new and mushrooming American phenomenon: the specialized youth sports concussion clinic, which one day may be as common as a mall at the edge of town. In the last three years, dozens of youth concussion clinics have opened in nearly 35 states — outpatient centers often connected to large hospitals that are now filled with young athletes complaining of headaches, amnesia, dizziness or problems concentrating. The proliferation of clinics, however, comes at a time when there is still no agreed-upon, established formula for treating the injuries.

A New Link Between Traumatic Brain Injury and Suicide
Frontline, PBS / May 16, 2013

A new study finds for the first time that military members with multiple traumatic brain injuries are more likely to be at risk for suicide, not only in the short term, but throughout their lifetime. The study found that often they sustained some of those head injuries earlier in life — usually while playing sports like football — the impact of which are then compounded by injuries sustained in combat. The study was conducted by Craig Bryan, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Utah and associate director of the National Center for Veterans Studies.

60 Feet 6 Inches from Disaster
The New York Times / May 9, 2013

On Tuesday night, hours after a line drive in St. Petersburg, Fla., crashed off the head of Toronto Blue Jays pitcher J. A. Happ, Brandon McCarthy took the mound in Los Angeles and made his best start of the season for the Arizona Diamondbacks. McCarthy fractured his skull last September at Oakland, a victim of another line drive. He earned a two-year, $15 million contract before pitching his next game. Horrifying incidents like Happ’s and McCarthy’s remind us that baseball is not the leisurely pastime it seems to be when viewed from the stands, the press box or the living room. Every pitch carries the potential for destruction caused by a ball that strikes the sweet spot of a major leaguer’s bat.