Football and CTE

[JayMac]

On 6/2/2019 at 8:47 AM, Gothamite said:

The New York Times reminds us that football is not alone in trying to pretend that this isn’t a problem:

 

 

The NFL isn’t the only immoral, indefensible league headed for a serious reckoning. 

Dan Carcillo is a great follow on Twitter when it comes to brain injuries. He discusses his problems that have come with past concussions and he continues to fight the NHL, hoping to break the league's ignorance on the matter.

[dfwabel]

 

Also,

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There is strong evidence that in an average class of 30 children, at least five will experience a brain injury before the age of 15. The symptoms of mild injury typically resolve in a few days or weeks. But in about 10% of these cases, mild injuries are estimated to lead to long-term deficits – causing problems with memory, concentration, behaviour, mood and personality.

 

Researchers base their estimates of the prevalence of brain injury on a strong association between concussion and persistent negative outcomes. For example, one study showed that children injured during their pre-school years were significantly more likely to have evidence of antisocial behaviour and/or psychiatric disorders during their teen years. These problems persisted into adulthood, with evidence of increased drug and alcohol abuse at the age of 25.

 

As brain injury is a hidden disability – you often can’t tell that there has been an injury – we don’t know a huge amount about. In fact, the symptoms many children experience after brain injury may be attributed to something else. For example, a child who has trouble concentrating and turning in schoolwork on time may seem to have attention problems and be mislabelled as having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

3

http://theconversation.com/hidden-epidemic-childhood-concussion-may-lead-to-long-term-cognitive-and-behavioural-problems-118201?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=twitterbutton

[IceCap]

On 6/2/2019 at 8:47 AM, Gothamite said:

The New York Times reminds us that football is not alone in trying to pretend that this isn’t a problem:

 

 

The NFL isn’t the only immoral, indefensible league headed for a serious reckoning. 

Thing is it’s easier to fix in hockey. It’s the same roadmap that’s brought up when people talk about removing fighting for the game. You just need to know when it cut out the dangerous behaviour in the developmental pipeline. 

 

Contact in hockey starts at the Bantam level of youth hockey, ages 13-14. Take a zero-tolerance policy towards hits that cause head injuries (they already do this with hits that can cause spinal injuries) and you can weed it out of the game in due time. Hell, ban checking entirely if you have to. 

My point is that hockey as a game is not inherently dangerous, the problem is how it’s played. And this can be addressed by altering the rules at the youth hockey level to eventually weaken the “culture” of that style of play. Today’s 13-14 year olds will produce NHLers in five to four years, after all. 

 

With gridiron football? The dangerous hits are a more integral part of the game. Making reform very difficult. 

[Gothamite]

Oh, I agree. Football will need significant rule changes.  But it’s not optional, and they can’t lie their way out of this forever. 

[dfwabel]

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Fallout from the NFL’s $1 billion settlement involving thousands of former players struggling with complications from concussions sustained during their professional careers has spilled into Marion Superior Court.

The local court case involves a dispute over a subpoena for records from the Indianapolis Colts. 

The subpoena was issued in 2017 in a New York lawsuit brought against the NFL by a more than 25 insurance companies that could be on the hook for much of the settlement costs. In the New York case, the insurers want to know what the NFL knew and when – including if the league hid knowledge of the long-term risks of head injuries. The answers could impact the insurance companies’ liabilities.

https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/nfl/colts/2019/06/04/nfl-and-concussions-colts-face-subpoena-over-what-they-knew/1327849001/

[Gothamite]

Good.  The more lawsuits the better.

If the NFL wants to stonewall, hide, and obscure the truth, let them face discovery.

[dfwabel]

7 minutes ago, Gothamite said:

Good.  The more lawsuits the better.

If the NFL wants to stonewall, hide, and obscure the truth, let them face discovery.

The New York suit is still ongoing and The Athletic published a story on its progress this week. 

[dfwabel]

From Australia.

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The landmark finding is the first time Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), colloquially known as being "punch drunk", has been identified in rugby league players anywhere in the world.

 

Associate Professor Michael Buckland, from the School of Medical Sciences at Sydney University, said both men were middle-aged ex-professionals who had each played more than 150 first grade NRL games over many years.

 

"Case one had a successful career after retirement and had been working up until his death. He did not abuse tobacco, alcohol, or other drugs," Associate Professor Buckland wrote in his research.

 

[dfwabel]

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/06/27/launches-cte-study-former-female-soccer-players/cA2PTrSCTjExq0DyAVxWyJ/story.html

 

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The Boston University School of Medicine has conducted groundbreaking studies on the brain injuries suffered by male football players. Now, BU is embarking on a high-profile effort to learn more about the long-term effects of repeated headers in women’s soccer.

On Thursday, soccer icons Brandi Chastain and Michelle Akers announced they would participate in BU’s study on Soccer, Head Impacts and Neurological Effects — or SHINE.

The study will follow 20 former high-level female soccer players, all of whom will be 40 or older, to determine whether headers cause the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

Note, Brandi announced she was going to donate her brain to BU back in 2016.

[Gothamite]

Glad to hear it.   We need more information, not stonewalling and obfuscation. 

[DnBronc]

From League of Fans:

 

http://www.leagueoffans.org/2019/07/24/limiting-full-contact-practices-cuts-football-concussions-57/

 

Also, here is the article Ken linked to: https://journals.sagepub.com/eprint/UWVQT6VQDKK8W7HU3Y3N/full

[Fitzy0220]

Do the Player Associations deserve to be thrown under the bus as well?  The NHL and NFL can and will Fine and Suspend a Player for his Egregious actions. What have the Players Associations done to prevent said Egregious acts against other Union Members? I feel the Players Associations cannot CRY about Player Safety then turn around and Defend or Appeal the Suspension of a Player who committed an Egregious Act. 

Do you really honestly think the NHLPA would agree to a Fighting Ban?

Brad Marchand has been suspended by the NHL what 6,7,8x in his Career, at what point does the NHLPA say F'n ENOUGH, either fly right or you're OUT of the Union? Not to mention his Immature Childish act of Licking people (what's the difference between Licking someone or Spitting on them? Saliva is Saliva) 
How did the NHLPA  Protect other Union Members from Marchand's:  countless Slew Foots, Flying Elbow, Low Bridge or a Spear
How did the NHLPA PROTECT Oskar Sundqvist from Tom Wilsons hit? Sundqvist ended up with a Concussion as a result
How did the NHLPA PROTECT Donald Brashear from Marty McSorelys 2 handed half baseball bat type swing at his Head? Brashear ended up with a Concussion as a result

What ELSE is the NHL Supposed to do? At some Point the NHLPA needs to Step up and be a Parent and get their kids under control


Bengals LB Vontaze Burfict Delivered a Controversial Hit on Steelers WR Antonio Brown, Brown suffered a Concussion. The NFL Fined and Suspended Burfict. What did the NHLPA Do? Again, the NFLPA cannot CRY Player Safety yet allow Burfict to continue his stupidity.

[Fitzy0220]

On 6/6/2019 at 9:43 AM, jmac11281 said:

Dan Carcillo is a great follow on Twitter when it comes to brain injuries. He discusses his problems that have come with past concussions and he continues to fight the NHL, hoping to break the league's ignorance on the matter.

Yet WHY was Carcillo in the NHL to begin with? Wasn't his Role on the Team an Enforcer / :censored: Stirrer? Game 6, 2009 Pens / Flyers Playoffs, Carcillo MORE THAN Willingly Dropped the Gloves with Pens Player Max Talbot. Flyers HAD a 3 - 0 lead with ALL the momentum and then Carcillo WILLINGLY drops the Gloves. So he has brain issues but ya know what, He chose to accept his role on Team by hurting people! He was Suspended How Many Times by the NHL (suspended 3x in 2012 Alone...WTF) for various dirty hits he laid upon his opponents? Yet I'm supposed to feel bad for him Now? What Else should the NHL had Done?

[Gothamite]

WHY do You Capitalize words At Random?    

[Fitzy0220]

19 hours ago, Gothamite said:

WHY do You Capitalize words At Random?    

why ask why LOL

[Gothamite]

That’s what I’m trying to ask you.  

[dfwabel]

NCAA banned 2-a-day practices in 2017, but overall days of contact increased and there was an increase in total head impact.

 

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The objective of this study was to quantify head impact exposure during the preseason and regular season in Division I college football athletes to determine whether the 2017 NCAA ruling decreased head impact exposure. 342 unique athletes from five NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) programs were consented and enrolled. Head impacts were recorded using the Head Impact Telemetry (HIT) System during the entire fall preseasons and regular seasons in 2016 and 2017. Despite the elimination of two-a-day practices, the number of preseason contact days increased in 2017, with an increase in average hourly impact exposure (i.e., contact intensity), resulting in a significant increase in total head impact burden (+ 26%) for the 2017 preseason. This finding would indicate that the 2017 NCAA ruling was not effective at reducing the head impact burden during the football preseason. Additionally, athletes sustained a significantly higher number of recorded head impacts per week (+ 40%) during the preseason than the regular season, implicating the preseason as a time of elevated repetitive head impact burden. With increased recognition of a possible association between repetitive head impact exposure and concussion, increased preseason exposure may predispose certain athletes to a higher risk of concussion during the preseason and regular season. Accordingly, efforts at reducing concussion incidence in contact sports should include a reduction in overall head impact exposure.

 

 

 

[dfwabel]

Quote

 

In the new study, researchers at the University of Rochester (U of R) in New York followed 38 of the school’s football players. The athletes wore helmets outfitted with accelerometers to track the number and force of hits during practices and games. Before and after each season, the scientists took MRI scans of the players’ brains. The researchers looked specifically at the midbrain, a region on the brain stem that governs primitive, thoughtless functions such as hearing and temperature regulation. When a player’s head is hit from any angle, the brain ripples like the surface of a pond after a rock is thrown, explains study author Adnan Hirad, a medical student at U of R. Although the forces can affect many regions of the brain, the midbrain’s central location makes it likely to sustain damage.

 

The results were striking. Although only two of the 38 players received a concussion, more than two-thirds of them showed changes to the integrity of the white matter of their midbrains. Rotational hits—when a player’s helmet is struck by a glancing blow—were particularly bad for the midbrain’s white matter, the team reports today in Science Advances.

 

Link

[Cosmic]

I just discovered these today; did anyone else know about them?

 

Now, of course the fine print says it's a dietary supplement that has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to treat, cure, or prevent any specific disease, but the big print says BRAIN ARMOR and it's specifically marketed to athletes. In case you thought the fake medicine salespeople from The Good Place were imaginary, now you know better. Imagine a college kid that isn't up on the latest in CTE, and his coach or trainer hands him BRAIN ARMOR? 

[dfwabel]

54 minutes ago, Cosmic said:

I just discovered these today; did anyone else know about them?

 

Now, of course the fine print says it's a dietary supplement that has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to treat, cure, or prevent any specific disease, but the big print says BRAIN ARMOR and it's specifically marketed to athletes. In case you thought the fake medicine salespeople from The Good Place were imaginary, now you know better. Imagine a college kid that isn't up on the latest in CTE, and his coach or trainer hands him BRAIN ARMOR? 

Last thing first.  Before a coach recommends any supplement to a student-athlete, they'd have to run it past Strength & Conditioning, who would look at the NCAA Banned List and consult with the NCAA for clarification. 

 

Secondly (and worse), Brain Armor got themselves aligned with Pop Warner Football as Official Supplement Provider.

https://www.popwarner.com/Default.aspx?tabid=1404836

 

Basically, it contains Omega-3 fatty acids, but a year ago, Discover Magazine wrote a story about the product and psuedoscience a year ago.

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One of the authors of the Nutritional Neuroscience paper is Dr. Julian E. Bailes, a neurosurgeon and omega-3 researcher who serves as Senior Medical Advisor to Brain Armor and as Co-Chair of the Brain Armor Foundation.

 

Also on the author list is Dr. Joseph Maroon, another neurosurgeon and a top advisor to the NFL. Maroon is famous for his view that the risks of CTE in football players have been overstated. But Maroon has also long been an evangelist for omega-3s, although his preferred brand is called Omax3, a rival to Brain Armor.

 

In 2015, Maroon had to correct a paper of his, published in PLoS ONE, after failing to declare his conflicts of interest, including his links to the NFL. But in the 2018 Nutritional Neuroscience paper, Maroon doesn’t list any conflicts of interest, and neither does Bailes.

 

To be fair, omega-3 is only a small part of the 2018 paper, but a declaration of the possible conflicts wouldn’t have gone amiss.

 

Another Brain Armor-linked researcher with a possibly laid-back approach to conflicts of interest is Dr. Jonathan M. Oliver. Oliver, who was lead author on the omega-3 biomarker study mentioned earler, was first author of a March 2018 piece in which he heralded the “emerging preclinical evidence in favor of omega-3.”

 

Oliver declared no interests or financial disclosures, and yet he had been awarded funding by the Brain Armor Foundation in 2017 to research the effects of Brain Armor on brain injury biomarkers in rugby players. Here are the details.