Journal of neurotrauma
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Journal of neurotrauma · Mar 2015
Frequency of head impact related outcomes by position in NCAA Division I collegiate football players.
Concussions and subconcussive impacts sustained in American football have been associated with short- and long-term neurological impairment, but differences in head impact outcomes across playing positions are not well understood. The American Medical Society for Sports Medicine has identified playing position as a key risk factor for concussion in football and one for which additional research is needed. This study examined variation in head impact outcomes across primary football playing positions in a group of 730 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Championship Series athletes, using a self-report questionnaire. ⋯ There were also positional differences in frequency of returning to play while symptomatic (p<0.001) and frequency of participating in full-contact practice (p<0.001). Offensive linemen reported having returned to play while experiencing symptoms more frequently and participating in more full-contact practices than other groups. These findings suggest that offensive linemen, a position group that experiences frequent, but low-magnitude, head impacts, develop more postimpact symptoms than other playing positions, but do not report these symptoms as a concussion.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Mar 2015
A Potential Biomarker in Sports-Related Concussion: Brain Functional Connectivity Alteration of the Default-Mode Network Measured with Longitudinal Resting-State fMRI over 30 Days.
Current diagnosis and monitoring of sports-related concussion rely on clinical signs and symptoms, and balance, vestibular, and neuropsychological examinations. Conventional brain imaging often does not reveal abnormalities. We sought to assess if the longitudinal change of functional and structural connectivity of the default-mode network (DMN) can serve as a potential biomarker. ⋯ This reduction was seen in eight of our nine concussion cases. Compared with the control group, there appears a general trend of increased DMN functional connectivity on Day 1, a significant drop on Day 7, and partial recovery on Day 30. The results of this pilot study suggest that the functional connectivity of DMN measured with longitudinal rs-fMRI can serve as a potential biomarker to monitor the dynamically changing brain function after sports-related concussion, even in patients who have shown clinical improvement.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Mar 2015
Chronic decrease in wakefulness and disruption of sleep-wake behavior after experimental traumatic brain injury.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can cause sleep-wake disturbances and excessive daytime sleepiness. The pathobiology of sleep disorders in TBI, however, is not well understood, and animal models have been underused in studying such changes and potential underlying mechanisms. ⋯ Moderate TBI caused disturbances in the ability to maintain consolidated wake bouts during the active phase and chronic loss of wakefulness. Further, TBI resulted in cognitive impairments and depressive-like symptoms, and reduced the number of orexin-A-positive neurons in the lateral hypothalamus.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Mar 2015
Endocannabinoid degradation inhibition improves neurobehavioral function, blood brain barrier integrity, and neuroinflammation following mild traumatic brain injury.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an increasingly frequent and poorly understood condition lacking effective therapeutic strategies. Inflammation and oxidative stress (OS) are critical components of injury, and targeted interventions to reduce their contribution to injury should improve neurobehavioral recovery and outcomes. Recent evidence reveals potential protective, yet short-lived, effects of the endocannabinoids (ECs), 2-arachidonoyl glycerol (2-AG) and N-arachidonoyl-ethanolamine (AEA), on neuroinflammatory and OS processes after TBI. ⋯ Astrocyte and microglia activation was significantly increased post-TBI, and treatment with JZL184 or URB597 blocked activation of both cell types. These findings suggest that EC degradation inhibition post-TBI exerts neuroprotective effects. Whether repeated dosing would achieve greater protection remains to be examined.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Mar 2015
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyDiverse effects of hypothermia therapy in patients with severe traumatic brain injury based on the CT classification of the Traumatic Coma Data Bank.
A multicenter randomized controlled trial of patients with severe traumatic brain injury who received therapeutic hypothermia or fever control was performed from 2002 to 2008 in Japan (BHYPO). There was no difference in the therapeutic effect on traumatic brain injury between the two groups. The efficacy of hypothermia treatment and the objective of the treatment were reexamined based on a secondary analysis of the BHYPO trial in 135 patients (88 treated with therapeutic hypothermia and 47 with fever control). ⋯ Favorable outcomes in young patients (≤50 years old) with evacuated mass lesions significantly increased from 33.3% with fever control to 77.8% with therapeutic hypothermia. Patients with diffuse injury III who were treated with therapeutic hypothermia, however, had significantly higher mortality than patients treated with fever control. It was difficult to control intracranial pressure with hypothermia for patients with diffuse injury III, but hypothermia was effective for young patients with an evacuated mass lesion.