CTE Feed

Former Denver Bronco Sues NFL For Brain Injuries

Sat, 02 Jun 2012 00:46:19 +0000

Former Denver Bronco David Studdard has filed a lawsuit against the NFL claiming concussions he suffered caused a traumatic brain injury.

Vikings' Asher Allen to Retire at 24

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 04:00:00 +0000

The Minnesota Vikings announced Wednesday that cornerback Asher Allen has retired from football, a curious decision for a 24-year-old who was about to enter only his fourth NFL season. Coach Leslie Frazier didn't get into specifics of the conversation he had with Allen last week, but did say he was surprised by the decision by the former third-round draft pick, who would have been counted on to provide depth in the secondary this season.

One of History's Most Famous Head Injuries Gets Examined — Again

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 04:00:00 +0000

The amazing case of Phineas Gage — the 25-year-old Vermont railroad worker who survived having a long, cylindrical tamping iron driven completely through his skull and brain — has fascinated the medical community for more than 150 years. The 1848 injury resulted from an explosion that sent the almost 4-foot-long tamping iron straight through Gage’s left cheek and out the top of his head. (It was later recovered 30 yards from the accident site.) The piece of metal, which had a diameter of 1.25 inches, tore out a significant section of the young man’s left frontal lobe.

Diabetes Drug Helps Ease Brain Injury Harm

Thu, 31 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Israeli and U.S. researchers say existing diabetes medication may ease damage caused by traumatic brain injury. Professor Chaim Pick of Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine and Dr. Nigel Greig of the National Institute of Aging in Bethesda, Md., and colleagues discovered Exendin-4, a diabetes drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, significantly minimizes damage in traumatic brain injury animal models when administered shortly after the initial incident. Originally designed to control sugar levels in the body, the drug has recently been found effective in protecting neurons in disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, the researchers said.

DARPA Expands Testing of Blast Gauge for Identifying Risk of Traumatic Brain Injury

Thu, 31 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is extending the testing of its Blast Gauge that measures the abrupt pressure and acceleration changes a soldier is exposed to in the event of a exposure to a blast. These external forces can result in traumatic brain injury (TBI), an often invisible injury that can cause a host of physical, cognitive, social, emotional, and behavioral effects. DARPA’s Blast Gauge is designed to provide medics with quantitative data to better identify those at risk of TBI so as to provide better treatment.

Georgian Among First to Be Awarded Purple Heart for Concussion

Thu, 31 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Monroe Seigle doesn’t remember the moment of impact. It was April 16, 2006. Having just completed a mission, his U.S. Marine unit was convoying back to Hadifah, a town in northern Iraq, when the Humvee hit a roadside bomb. “It was a huge explosion and the gunner’s face was shredded by shrapnel,” said Seigle, 32, a native of Marietta and a senior at Kennesaw State University. “I was stunned and I remember being in a ditch with debris raining down on me. I remember being in a daze.” Seigle was rushed to a medical unit, where he was diagnosed with a concussion. He was out of the hospital and back in action in two days. The gunner got a Purple Heart, but because Seigle wasn't knocked unconscious and didn't have an open wound, he didn't get a medal.

After Concussion, Teens Miss Recovery Clues

Wed, 30 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

When recovering from concussion, young athletes rely too much on how they feel, and neglect more subtle neuropsychiatric and sleep issues to decide when it’s safe to get back in the game.

Concussion Management Focus of PA Conference

Wed, 30 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

More than 100 coaches, athletic directors, teachers, administrators and others gathered in Pittsburgh and locations throughout the state Tuesday to learn more about the effects of concussions on students’ health and academic success. Those in other areas were participating via video conferencing in the first-of-its-kind student athlete concussion management conference.

Almost Half of New Vets Seek Disability

Tue, 29 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

America's newest veterans are filing for disability benefits at a historic rate, claiming to be the most medically and mentally troubled generation of former troops the nation has ever seen. A staggering 45 percent of the 1.6 million veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now seeking compensation for injuries they say are service-related. That is more than double the estimate of 21 percent who filed such claims after the Gulf War in the early 1990s, top government officials told The Associated Press.

Denver Soldier Inspires Others Suffering from Traumatic Brain Injuries, PTSD

Tue, 29 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

On Memorial Day, we remember soldiers who’ve died. But one Army veteran is focused on the living. He wants to inspire others who’ve survived what he’s been through. Joel Hunt was severely injured in 2005 by a bomb blast, during his third deployment to Iraq. He came home from war in a wheelchair. But earlier this month, he was up and running… participating in the Colfax 5K in Denver. And despite running with a partially paralyzed left leg, he kept his sense of humor intact.

The Warning Signs of Lingering Injury

Tue, 29 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

The research isn't conclusive yet, but the Department of Veterans Affairs needs to prepare for the possibility that numerous Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans may be suffering from a degenerative neurological disease caused by exposure to bomb blasts. Last year, researchers discovered evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, during an autopsy of a 27-year-old Iraq war veteran who had committed suicide.

TCD Research Makes Big Brain Breakthrough

Tue, 29 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Swelling in the brain is not good news, and can be difficult to treat. But new research from Trinity College Dublin has demonstrated a way to help relieve the pressure that could pave the way to better treatments. Swelling after traumatic brain injury is similar to what would happen if a pipe burst in a house with its windows and doors close. As the water levels rise, without enough routes of escape, the damage is immense. In the brain, swelling and fluid build-up can increase pressure inside the skull and the damage can be fatal.

Gene Demby: PostBourgie: The Podcast | #20: Giving Up Football, And Losing A Language

Tue, 29 May 2012 00:47:15 +0000

The cloud of chronic traumatic encephalopathy -- the concussion-related brain disease that had led to mental illness and Alzheimer's-like symptoms -- hangs over the apparent suicide of Junior Seau, one of the N.F.L.'s great linebackers. The news was the final straw for Ta-Nehisi Coates of the Atlantic, who wrote that he could no longer find enjoyment in watching football with the increasingly ...

The Football Concussion Crisis, Part 1

Fri, 25 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

NFL Hall of Famer Harry Carson joins former NBC anchor Stone Phillips and pathologist Bennet Omalu for a discussion of chronic traumatic encephalopathy among football players. Recorded May 12th at the Ensemblestudiotheatre.org, site of the new play Headstrong about the brain injury issue.

Study Links Explosions to Brain Disease in Military Vets

Wed, 23 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

For the first 24 hours after an improvised explosive device (IED) was detonated nearby, the young soldier felt dizzy. He was unusually tired and his head throbbed with pain. Over the next two years, the headache became a daily curse, and the soldier became depressed, forgetful, inattentive, violent, and verbally abusive. Diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), he died three months later from a brain hemorrhage. He was 22. When a BU-led research team probed the soldier’s brain, and the brains of three other blast-exposed vets from Iraq and Afghanistan who had suffered similar disabilities, they found them to be riddled with a protein associated with a degenerative brain disease in concussed professional athletes, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Their study, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine May 16 connects blast exposure with CTE and with devastating neural and cognitive impairments. The researchers hope the study will help advance preventive and treatment measures for the military.

Songs May Hold Key for Injured Brains

Wed, 23 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Music can help patients with severe traumatic brain injury unlock memories from their past, a new study has shown. In a case presented at the World Congress for Neurorehabilitation in Melbourne this week, clinical neuropsychologist Aimee Baird played 50 songs to a patient who suffered a brain injury in a motorbike accident in 2010. "I played him the No.1 song-of-the-year from when he was 10 to 60, to see if the songs could help bring to mind personal memories associated with the music," Dr Baird said.

Pentagon Tests Combat Blast Gauge

Wed, 23 May 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Traumatic brain injury is the signature wound of conflicts in both Iraq and Afghanistan - with conservative estimates placing the number of US troops suffering from TBI at more than 200,000. Currently, battlefield medical personnel rely on visual signs, along with the personal accounts of patients to alert them to the possibility of TBI. However, DARPA's $45 blast gauge collects critical quantitative data for measuring blast related exposure, thus offering a mechanism for field medics to better identify those at risk for TBI.

Vets Return With Brain Injuries Oft Seen In Football

Sun, 20 May 2012 21:27:34 +0000

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is best-known for affecting football players; repeated bangs to the head can hurt the parts of the brain that direct impulse, memory and emotion. Now, scientists are finding evidence of CTE in the brains of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. Dr. Bob Stern from Boston University School of Medicine talks to weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz.

Exposure To Blasts And Concussive Injuries Have Similar Brain Effects

Thu, 17 May 2012 17:15:20 +0000

Connie K. Ho for RedOrbit.com Researchers from Boston University ( BU ) and the Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System recently found chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in the brain tissue of military service personnel who were exposed to blasts. The experiment showed that a single blast to an improvised explosive device (IED) resulted in CTE and long-term brain impairments related to the ...

Exposure to IED blast can cause traumatic brain injury in military personnel

Thu, 17 May 2012 08:02:19 +0000

Washington, May 17 (ANI): Researchers have for the first time found evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy in brain tissue from blast-exposed military service personnel.

Soldiers' brain damage similar to football players', study of chronic traumatic encephalopathy shows

Wed, 16 May 2012 22:01:18 +0000

Boston University researchers compared autopsies from four soldiers that served in Afghanistan with those of three young football players and a wrestler

Research findings show brain injury to soldiers can arise from exposure to a single explosion

Wed, 16 May 2012 18:55:57 +0000

A team of investigators have shown evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in brain tissue from blast-exposed military service personnel. Laboratory experiments demonstrated that exposure to a single blast equivalent to a typical improvised explosive device results in CTE and long-term brain impairments that accompany the disease. They also found that the blast wind, not the shock ...

Study shows first case of chronic traumatic encephalopathy in blast-exposed military personnel

Wed, 16 May 2012 18:55:26 +0000

Investigators from Boston University and the Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System have shown evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in brain tissue from blast-exposed military service personnel. Laboratory experiments conducted by the investigators demonstrated that exposure to a single blast equivalent to a typical improvised explosive device results in CTE and long-term brain ...

Junior Seau & Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy

Mon, 07 May 2012 17:25:54 +0000

NFL great Junior Seau's death has prompted discussions about brain trauma, specifically Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). Find out more about this condition and some of the professional athletes who have suffered from it.

Junior Seau's death raises questions about brain trauma, chronic traumatic encephalopathy

Thu, 03 May 2012 18:15:04 +0000

Former NFL linebacker Junior Seau was found dead in his home Wednesday of an apparent suicide