Dr. Carol Nwelue discusses school backpack and playground safety.

Carol Nwelue, MD, at Baylor Scott & White Health, answers common patient questions and reacts to the latest medical research. Why are heavy backpacks potentially dangerous for kids? (SOT@ :14, TRT :30) Are roller bag backpacks a safe choice? (SOT@…

Head trauma doesn’t predict memory problems in NFL retirees, UT Southwestern study shows

A study of retired professional football players by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center found that their cognitive abilities did not differ significantly from a control group of similarly aged men who did not play football, nor did those abilities show significant change over one to five years. The findings were published in Brain Injury.

Sports Medicine Physician Available to Comment on Concussion Following Tua Tagovailoa’s Injury

Following last night’s concussion of Miami Dolphins football star Tua Tagovailoa, one sports medicine physician is reminding sports fans and athletes alike about the dangers of head injuries.  “Watching the frightening moment when Tua Tagovailoa was violently tackled and landed…

New Finding Suggests Cognitive Problems Caused by Repeat Mild Head Hits Could Be Treated

A neurologic pathway by which non-damaging but high frequency brain impact blunts normal brain function and causes long-term problems with learning and memory has been identified. The finding suggests that tailored drug therapy can be designed and developed to reactivate and normalize cognitive function, say neuroscientists at Georgetown University Medical Center.

NAU researchers publish new report, recommendations to increase concussion disclosure in athletes

Psychology chair Heidi Wayment co-authored the report with Ann Huffman, Deborah Craig and Monica Lininger. The work was a result of a grant funded by the Mind Matters Challenge, which provides recommendations for increasing concussion symptom disclosure in collegiate athletic departments and military service academies.

Concussion discovery reveals dire, unknown effects of even mild brain injury

Even mild concussions cause severe and long-lasting impairments in the brain’s ability to clean itself, and this may seed it for Alzheimer’s, dementia and other neurodegenerative problems.

Multi-institutional team to study effects of age, gender on brain injury mechanics

A team of researchers, led by Philip V. Bayly in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University, plans to use MRI to study the brains of healthy, uninjured individuals to create models of brain motion to enable the researchers to predict the chronic effects of repeated head impacts in both men and women.