News & Headlines

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The Conversation | Oct 7, 2024

A new portrait of NRL legend Wally Lewis conveys a striking message about the consequences of brain trauma in sport.

BBC | Oct 7, 2024

In the months that followed after losing against another fighter, Heather Hardy had lost almost 30lb in weight, was dealing with persistent headaches and was unable to sleep — all symptoms of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

Vox | Oct 1, 2024

Recently, trauma suffered by football stars has raised fresh concerns about the league’s ongoing issues with head injuries — and raised questions about whether there is more the NFL could do to protect its players.

Psychiatrist.com | Oct 1, 2024

A new study suggests that neurostimulation therapies targeting a specific brain circuit might work as a novel treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Research suggests that targeting a specific brain circuit with neurostimulation could offer a promising PTSD treatment. By analyzing veterans with traumatic brain injuries (TBI), the team at Brigham and Women’s Hospital discovered that damage to certain areas of the brain was associated with a lower likelihood of developing PTSD. The findings, published in Nature Neuroscience, could chart a course to more accurate therapeutic PTSD treatment.

OnlyMyHealth | Sep 30, 2024

The recent revelation that Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease has reignited the debate about the link between contact sports, such as football, and the long-term risk of neurodegenerative diseases. Favre, a legendary NFL quarterback who spent 20 seasons primarily with the Green Bay Packers, made the announcement while testifying before Congress. His diagnosis has highlighted growing concerns regarding the dangers of repeated head injuries in collision sports and their possible connection to conditions like Parkinson’s, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), and other brain diseases.

MSN | Sep 30, 2024

A study has revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic has sped up adolescent brain aging, with the effects being more pronounced in females. According to NBC News, researchers from the University of Washington’s Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences (I-LABS) found that adolescent brain maturation has accelerated due to lockdowns. The study revealed that female brains aged an average of 4.2 years faster, while male adolescents’ brains aged 1.4 years faster. The research team analyzed MRI scans on the brains of 160 adolescents aged 9 to 17, taken between 2018 and 2021, focusing on changes in the thickness of the cerebral cortex. This region, which manages responsible, long-term memory, perception, and judgment, naturally thins with age.

Medical Xpress | Sep 30, 2024

Ontario's Minister of Sport, 71-year-old Neil Lumsden, recently announced his decision to donate his brain to the Concussion Legacy Foundation Canada to support research on brain injuries. Lumsden played 10 years in the Canadian Football League, winning four Grey Cups and while he knows he had his "bell rung" a number of times during his career, he doesn't believe he has had any long-term neurological damage. Helping researchers find out why his brain seems to be more resilient than some of his teammates motivated his decision. As if on cue, on Sept. 24, 54-year-old National Football League Hall of Famer Brett Favre revealed during unrelated testimony before the United States congress that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, likely as a result of hundreds of concussions experienced during his storied career. Why have these two athletes had such different outcomes?

US News & World Report | Sep 27, 2024

Brain damage that veterans suffered from flying shrapnel has provided a major clue that could lead to better treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a new study says. Veterans who suffered shrapnel damage connected to their amygdala, the fear center of the brain, were less likely to develop PTSD, researchers reported Sept. 24 in the journal Nature Neuroscience. The results suggest that PTSD could be treated by using electrical pulses to disrupt brain networks linked to the amygdala, they added.

ESPN | Sep 25, 2024

A 2020 study found that having a single concussion increased the risk of developing Parkinson's disease by 57% and having multiple concussions further compounds the danger.

Newsweek | Sep 25, 2024

OVID-19 may leave some people with lasting memory problems long after their infection has cleared, new research has found, with the findings particularly pronounced among those who suffered from the earliest variants of the virus. COVID-19 is known for its respiratory symptoms. But we are increasingly learning that SARS-CoV-2—the virus that causes the infection—can affect our brains too. Brain fog, cognitive deficits, and loss of smell and taste are commonly reported symptoms of the virus and some report these neurological symptoms long after the initial infection has subsided.

NPR | Sep 24, 2024

One-third of former professional football players reported in a new survey that they believe they have the degenerative brain disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. The research, published Monday in the medical journal JAMA Neurology, represents one of the broadest surveys to date of former NFL players' perception of their cognitive health and how widely they report symptoms linked to CTE, which is thought to be caused by concussions and repeated hits to the head.

Medical Xpress | Sep 23, 2024

A single treatment session, which includes the video game Tetris, can reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This has been shown in a new study carried out with health care professionals working during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study is led by researchers at Uppsala University and is published in BMC Medicine. "It is possible to reduce the frequency of unpleasant and intrusive memories of trauma, and thereby also alleviate other PTSD symptoms. With just one guided treatment  session, we saw positive effects that persisted after five weeks and even six months after treatment.

The Week | Sep 23, 2024

One concussion is bad. Two are worse. Three? There might be a problem. That's the dilemma faced by Tua Tagovailoa, the Miami Dolphins quarterback, who suffered a concussion — at least his third in the NFL — this month in a nationally televised game. Now his football future is in question. The most recent concussion "has prompted a dramatic response by fans and former players" urging Tagovailoa to retire, said NPR. "It's not worth it," said Antonio Pierce, coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. "If that was my son, I'd be like, 'it might be time,'" said Tony Gonzalez, the Hall of Fame former tight end. That's because concussions and lower-level blows to the head are "key factors" in the development of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a condition known to cause "early dementia and death" among retired players.

US News & World Report | Sep 23, 2024

A cavalry of sorts can come to the rescue of combat veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a new study says. Combat veterans who regularly care for horses experience an easing of their PTSD symptoms, as well as an overall improved mental outlook, researchers found. Focusing on a horse’s welfare can help a veteran shed the hypervigilance that often accompanies PTSD, explained researcher Andrea Quinn, assistant director of the Center for Psychological Services in the Rutgers Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology.

NPR | Sep 23, 2024

At what he calls the lowest point in his life, Coast Guard veteran Jorel Wester went to a sandwich shop for what he thought would be his last meal. “I was sitting in my car in the parking lot and I had this pistol in my lap and I was like, this is the moment," he told NPR. "I went to grab a drink and on the side of the cup, it had this advertisement for K9s for Warriors, saying they help pair veterans with service dogs for PTSD. I’m like well, I’m going to give them a call and if somebody answers, I’m going to tell them what’s happening.”

MSN | Sep 23, 2024

Light therapy could help people recover from major brain injuries, suggests a new study. Low-level light therapy appears to improve healing in the brains of people who suffered significant injury, say scientists. They believe it may also assist in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and autism. Lights of different wavelengths have been studied for years for their wound-healing properties.

ESPN | Sep 19, 2024

Football's governing body FIFA and the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday launched a global concussion awareness initiative developed with brain health experts. The "Suspect and Protect: No Match is Worth the Risk" scheme aims to highlight the risks of traumatic brain injury and offer resources on the subject, they said in a joint statement.

BBC | Sep 19, 2024

Doctors are worried a combat sport called slap fighting, watched by millions online and gaining in popularity, is causing serious brain damage. Competitors face off and take turns to deliver bare, full-force, open-handed strikes to the cheek. To assess the possible harm, medics screened videos of tournaments and have now written a warning letter in a leading journal, JAMA Surgery, about their findings. Unlike boxing, no head gear is allowed and defenders cannot duck to avoid blows. Even flinching is banned.

The Conversation | Sep 18, 2024

Concerns about the long-term impacts of concussion and head injury have become prominent in recent years, particularly among participants and stakeholders of contact and collision sports. Many people have been left wondering about the risk of head injury in sport and whether it is safe to continue to play. People are especially worried about what is commonly known as CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy). A 2022 publication claimed repetitive head impacts in contact and collision sports were the cause of CTE.

NPR | Sep 16, 2024

It was a routine run for a first down, the kind that quarterbacks do every week in the National Football League. But Tua Tagovailoa of the Miami Dolphins leaned headfirst into the tackle, and the impact against the defender's chest sent his head sharply to the left. Afterward, he collapsed to the ground, with his right fist balled and raised into the air in what appeared to be a telltale sign of brain injury.

The New York Times | Sep 16, 2024

Now that the N.F.L. season has begun, you may have noticed football players wearing a strange sort of cover over their helmets. It’s called a Guardian Cap, and it adds a layer of foam to the outside of the helmet, with the aim of reducing brain injuries. N.F.L. players have worn the caps during summer practice for the past few years, but this is the first season the league is allowing them in games. A handful of players wore them during the opening weekend. The company behind the caps, Guardian Sports, says they reduce the force of the impact when a player’s head is hit. But what does that mean? And do they protect against concussions?

New York Post | Sep 16, 2024

Michael Kahana, a University of Pennsylvania psychologist, has been studying memory for over 30 years: how it works, and what’s going on when it doesn’t. He’s not just fascinated with memory loss caused by traumatic brain injury — which affects more than 5 million people in this country — or the nearly 7 million Americans with Alzheimer’s. His research has also focused on the memory lapses that impact everyone, regardless of their cognitive health.

MSN | Sep 16, 2024

A study released Thursday found post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is on the rise among college students.  The research found PTSD increased 4.1 percentage points over five years, going from 3.4 percent of students in the 2017-18 school year to 7.5 percent in the 2021-22 academic year.  The analysis conducted by the University of Alabama at Birmingham suggested possible stressors that could have triggered PTSD in students, such as losing loved ones during the pandemic, campus shootings and racial trauma.  

The New York Times | Sep 13, 2024

Minutes after Tua Tagovailoa suffered his latest concussion Thursday, former NFL players took to social media — and later to national broadcasts — to call for the Miami Dolphins quarterback to step away from football. Thursday’s concussion comes less than two years after Tagovailoa suffered numerous head injuries in the 2022 season, which forced him to miss extensive time. After that season, he told reporters he considered retiring.

The Conversation | Sep 12, 2024

A single mild concussion while playing amateur sports does not lead to long-term cognitive decline a recent study has found. This conclusion may seem at odds with much research on head injury and concussion in sport. However, a closer look at the study shows its findings are not so different after all: experiencing repeated concussions is not a good thing.