In late October 2022, the NIH National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) updated their website and made the following statement: “Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a delayed neurodegenerative disorder that was initially identified in postmortem brains and, research-to-date suggests, is caused in part by repeated traumatic brain injuries” (italics added). SNS recognizes…
Objectives: To determine the association between early screen time (7-10 days postinjury) and postconcussion symptom severity in children and adolescents with concussion, as compared to those with orthopedic injury (OI). Methods: This was a planned secondary analysis of a prospective longitudinal cohort study. Participants were 633 children and adolescents with acute concussion and 334 with OI aged…
Do the types of symptoms matter in the acute evaluation period? Based on this study in professional hockey players by SNS members Jared Bruce & Ruben Echemendia and colleagues they do! Post injury cognitive, somatic/physical, and headache symptoms best differentiated concussed players and active controls. Pre-injury affective/emotional symptoms were also associated with increased likelihood of concussion among…
The Dynamic Exertion Test (EXiT) was developed to inform return-to-play (RTP) decision-making following clinical recovery from sport-related concussion (SRC). The current study established test-retest reliability in addition to minimal detectable change scores of an objective dynamic exercise assessment among healthy adolescent and adult athletes. The EXiT may be an objective approach to inform RTP decision-making…
Two methods of baseline cognitive testing were evaluated in high school athletes. The authorsadministered the Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Testing (ImPACT), a commonly usedcomputerized concussion test, as well as more traditional paper and pencil neuropsychological measuresto a group of high school athletes. The study found that the ImPACT and paper and pencil tests measuredifferent aspects…
In this new article SNS members Stephen Bunt, Nyaz Didehbani, Ph.D. and C. Munro Cullum, Ph.D. found that a delayed presentation to a specialty concussion clinic (30 or more days post-injury) regardless of previous evaluation was associated with poorer recovery outcomes in adults compared to those with an earlier presentation. Time from injury to a formal…
This article from 2020 looked at how a group of approximately 4000 athletes ages 9 to 21performed on the SWAY Balance System at baseline. The article found that athletes performedsuccessively better on the Balance task and faster on the Reaction Time task as they got older. Italso broke scores into Low, Below Average, Average, Above…
A recent study of former NFL players revealed that leaving their sport involuntarily and without a transition plan was associated with greater severity of current depressive and anxiety symptoms. Further researcher is needed to understand how transition-related factors influence functioning in athletes discontinuing participation from sport at lower levels of play (high school, college, etc.).…
Summary: The authors analyzed self-report questionnaire data from over 900 former NFL players (ages 50+). Their results revealed higher prevalence of self-reported MCI and dementia compared to the general population, with self-reported impairment associated with various health-related (reported concussions, depression, anxiety, recent pain, sleep apnea) and demographics-related (age, race) factors. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34593716/ Walton, S. R., Brett,…
Summary: The authors studied 333 former NFL players over a 19-year period to determine factors associated with severity and trajectory of depressive symptoms. Their data revealed an association between concussion history and severity of depression, as well as showed that declining physical functioning was associated with increases in depressive symptoms longitudinally. https://jnnp.bmj.com/content/early/2021/10/17/jnnp-2021-326602 Brett B. L., Kerr Z. Y., Walton S.…