Whether you live in Vista or elsewhere in Southern California, it is important to take steps to avoid a serious personal injury. Injuries can happen almost anywhere, and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) can result from many different types of accidents. Motor vehicle collisions, slips and falls, and other kinds of accidents can lead to severe head trauma. According to a recent report from U.S. News & World Report, rates of fall-related TBI deaths are on the rise in California and across the country. In other words, more people are sustaining fatal brain injuries in fall-related accidents than in previous years and decades. The study shows that fall-related TBI deaths increased steadily between 2008-2017. We want to take a closer look at that study and to consider what it means for Vista residents who sustain brain injuries in falls.

More People are Suffering Deadly TBIs in Falls

Traumatic brain injuries, according to researchers, are head injuries that are “caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head or body, or a penetrating head injury that results in disruption of normal brain function.” In general, TBIs can be mild, moderate, or severe. Concussions are one type of mild TBI, and although they may result in life-threatening problems later on, most mild and moderate TBIs do not immediately cause a person’s death. The key piece of information from the report is that more people are sustaining fatal TBIs in fall-related accidents. Yet there is more to the data than that. More of the people falling are older adults, and more of them live in rural areas of the country. Rates of fall-related brain injury deaths have risen across age groups and geographic regions, but those specific risk factors showed particular growth.

Specifically, the study reports that brain injury deaths rose by 17% between 2008 and 2017, with continuous increases every year. In 2008, there were a total of 12,311 deaths from TBIs caused by falls, and in 2017, a total of 12,311 people sustained fatal brain injuries in falls. A total of 49 out of 51 jurisdictions in the U.S. showed a year-after-year rise in TBI deaths caused by falls. While the researchers emphasize that any person of any age can unexpectedly fall and suffer a TBI, people aged 75 and over tend to be at much greater risk not only of falling, but of dying from the injuries sustained in that fall.

There is a Need to Educate Patients About Fall Prevention

The researchers in the recent study suggest that healthcare providers have a duty to provide patients with more information about fall-related accident risks and brain injuries. In addition, the researchers intimate that healthcare providers, especially those providing generalized care to older adults, should be assessing a patient’s risk of suffering a fall-related injury and discussing ways to avoid a TBI.

If there were more public awareness about the seriousness of falls and resulting TBIs, according to the U.S. News & World Report article, fewer people would die each year from brain injuries they sustained in falls.

Contact a Vista Brain Injury Attorney

If you have questions about seeking compensation for a TBI, an experienced brain injury lawyer can assist you. Contact the Walton Law Firm to speak with an experienced San Diego County personal injury attorney about your case.

See Related Blog Posts: New Study Addresses Hockey Concussions Domestic Violence and Concussions in San Clemente

While most of us do not associate life in Oceanside, CA with ice hockey, there are certainly ice hockey teams in Southern California, and many high school students play hockey with an aim of playing in college or afterward. The universities in the UC system also have hockey teams, and both men and women enjoy club hockey at the nearby University of California, San Diego campus. Although California might not be known for its hockey, young people do play ice hockey here. According to a recent report in CBS News, they may be at greater risk of a concussion than researchers previously reported. Women, in particular, may sustain concussions at a much higher rate in ice hockey than scientists previously believed.

Risks of Ice Hockey and Head Trauma

According to the recent report, concussions in women’s ice hockey are much more common than you might think. Many of the players are beginning to think more carefully about how they are exposed to serious risks of a traumatic brain injury (TBI). A recent study conducted by researchers at the Minnesota Department of Health determined that “girls, particularly girls who play hockey, are more likely to get concussions than boys.” Some of the reason is “biological,” according to Dr. Uzma Samadani, a brain surgeon. As Dr. Samadani clarified, “boys have stronger necks and thicker skulls.”

In addition to biological differences, there are social and cultural differences that make boys potentially less likely to suffer concussions in the same ways as girls. As Samadani explained, “from a young age, boys engage in rough play.” While this is certainly not a given based on biology or sex, that type of rough play tends to be socially normalized for boys but not for girls. As a result, Samadani went on, “they tackle each other . . . they learn to tumble . . . [and] many girls don’t do this.” As such, boys may be less likely to sustain a TBI in a sport that involves the same kinds of interactions.

While Samadani underscored that it may not be practical or even a good idea to prevent kids from playing sports like hockey in high school or college, it is important to understand the risks, and to think about the ways our sociocultural systems may lead to head injuries in some populations but not in others.

Learning More About Sports-Related Concussions

Sometimes a coach or even an institution—such as a high school or a university—may be liable when a student athlete sustains a head injury. Coaches have a certain duty to students, and anyone who is suspected of having a head injury must go through a protocol to help avoid putting an athlete with a head injury back on the field.

According to HealthyChildren.org, all sports have some risk of concussion, but certain sports are riskier than others. For example, football, soccer, lacrosse, hockey, basketball, and cheerleading have higher risks of concussion than other sports. As many parents and athletes alike now know, multiple hits to the head may put a student at higher risk of developing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) even decades after they initially played a contact sport.

Contact an Oceanside Brain Injury Attorney

If your child sustained a head injury while playing sports, it may be possible to file a claim for compensation. An experienced Oceanside brain injury lawyer can help. Contact the Walton Law Firm to learn more about how we can assist with your case.

See Related Blog Posts: New Study Addresses Traumatic Brain Injury Patterns in Boxers and MMA Fighters Domestic Violence and Concussions in San Clemente

A large majority of discussions about traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) in the last decade have focused on sports-related concussions and head trauma sustained by active-duty service members. In particular, a substantial portion of TBI research has focused on the prevalence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) among NFL football players and others involved in contact sports. In relation to studies concerning professional athletes, much research also has identified the risks of sports-related concussions among youth athletes.

Yet few studies have considered the rate and effects of concussions sustained by women who are involved in “intimate partner violence,” according to a recent article in The New York Times. In response to that research shortage, Dr. Eve Valera has begun to analyze concussions among women who have sustained head injuries inflicted by domestic partners.

Limited Studies on Brain Trauma, Women, and Domestic Violence

According to the article, when Valera began volunteering in a domestic-violence shelter while earning a Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of Illinois, she began to wonder, in relation to sports-related concussions and CTE studies, “how many of the women there might be experiencing comparable post-concussive symptoms as a result of head injuries inflicted by their partners.” However, Valera “could not find any published studies on brain trauma related to such violence.” Recognizing the lack of research, Valera decided to begin conducting that research herself.

Valera’s research started with interviews with women in the domestic-violence shelter. Her first study was published in 2003, prior to the first large-scale study of CTE among retired NFL players. In that study, Valera reported that approximately 75% of the women she interviewed had experienced at least one TBI.

Domestic Violence Linked to More Concussions Than Sports

Taking the numbers from her study and relating them to the larger population, Valera estimates that the number of women who have sustained concussions as a result of domestic violence are much higher than many people might expect. When it comes to a single concussion, Valera approximates that up to 31 million women may have been affected. She also considers women who may have sustained multiple concussions—one of the major factors that researchers have linked to CTE in football players and other athletes. In total, Valera estimates that up to 21 million women may have sustained multiple concussions as a result of domestic violence.

How do those numbers compare to the rate of individuals who suffer TBIs in professional sports and in the military? According to a 2018 study Valera published in the Journal of Neurotrauma, “1.6 million women can be estimated to sustain repetitive TBIs in comparison to the total annual numbers of TBIs reported for the military and NFL at 18,000 and 281 respectively.”

To put it another way, most of the information we currently have about concussions and CTE comes from research into men who have sustained these injuries, while women may have sustained substantially more repeat concussions that could have long-term consequences. Valera argues that more research funds need to be invested into studies that assess the ways in which concussions affect women, in particular those who have suffered head trauma as a result of domestic violence. Given that TBIs are linked to degenerative brain diseases, we need to highlight that “two-thirds of those who get Alzheimer’s diagnoses are women,” and more researchers need to investigate the effects of concussions on women.

Contact a San Clemente Brain Injury Lawyer

If you or someone you love sustained a head injury because of another party’s negligence, you should speak with a San Clemente brain injury attorney about your options. Contact the Walton Law Firm to speak with an advocate today.

See Related Blog Posts: E-Scooters Cause Brain Injuries and Broken Bones in and Around San Diego More Concussions in Poway Soccer Players

Children in Escondido can suffer concussions and other types of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) just as adults can. There are many common causes of TBIs in both kids and adults, including, for example, car crashes and sports-related accidents. According to a recent report in U.S. News & World Report, some sports and recreational activities are much more hazardous than others when it comes to brain injury risks for kids. More specifically, a majority of children who sustain traumatic brain injuries in sports- or recreation-related activities sustain those injuries while playing football or soccer.

CDC Study Discusses Dangers of Contact Sports for Kids

This information about the serious risks of both football and soccer for kids was published in a new study conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That study emphasized that contact sports are the most dangerous in terms of TBI risks, resulting in approximately 45% of all brain injuries that send kids to emergency departments every year. In general, football was the cause of the highest number of TBIs in male children, while soccer was the leading cause of brain injuries in female children. According to the report, “contact sports resulted in nearly twice as many TBI [emergency department] visits as did non-contact sports and four times those associated with recreation-related activities.”

In order to prevent a high number of TBIs in kids, the report recommended “limiting player-to-player contact” in addition to promoting “rule changes that reduce risk for collisions.” Yet other recreational activities can also pose serious risks of head trauma. For example, in addition to football and soccer, children also frequently suffer brain injuries from playground activities and bicycling.

Learning More About Recreation-Related Concussions in Children

The study analyzed data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System’s All Injury Program, which included information on hundreds of thousands of children. That data showed that, on average, “283,000 children under the age of 18 sought care in emergency departments each year for sports- and recreation-related traumatic brain injuries.” The highest number of reported injuries affected male children between the ages of 10 and 17.

The majority of all TBI reports among children were for concussions. In some cases, however, the head injuries were severe, resulting in cognitive damage and long-term effects. To reduce the risk of a head injury, in addition to paying attention to preventative measures for contact sports, parents should take steps to avoid fall-related injuries. Playgrounds in particular can result in falls from heights, which frequently lead to head trauma and internal injuries.

When a child does suffer a fall or sustain a blow to the head, parents should be aware of the following signs of a child concussion reported by KidsHealth:

• Dizziness;
• Memory loss, or any trouble remembering recent events;
• Nausea;
• Vomiting;
• Headache;
• Blurry vision;
• Light sensitivity;
• Balance problems;
• Concentration or thinking problems;
• Anxiety; and
• Irritability.

Contact an Escondido Brain Injury Attorney

Brain injuries can affect children and adults alike when another party is negligent. If you or someone you love suffered a TBI, you should discuss your options with an Escondido brain injury attorney. A personal injury lawyer at our firm can speak with you today. Contact the Walton Law Firm for more information.

See Related Blog Posts: E-Scooters Cause Brain Injuries and Broken Bones in and Around San Diego More Concussions in Poway Soccer Players

More research funds are going toward sports-related concussion studies and concussion risks for youth athletes. We often think about football and other contact sports when we consider traumatic brain injury (TBI) risks, yet many different sports and recreational activities can put young athletes at serious risk of sustaining a concussion.

A recent study conducted by researchers at Northwestern University found that concussions are more common than we previously thought among female soccer players. Nearly 30% of all soccer injuries are concussions. To put that number in perspective, about 24% of all football injuries are concussions. To put that another way, more girls suffer sports-related concussions playing soccer in high school than do boys who play football.

Girls Soccer Players Suffer Head Injuries More Often Than Boys Soccer Players

Male youth athletes frequently are the focus of sports-related concussion studies given that football—the contact sport with the most prominence when it comes to head injury risks—is populated largely by males. However, female athletes also are at serious risk of sports-related concussions, especially female youth soccer players. When we look at both men’s and women’s soccer, youth women’s teams “tend to have more concussions than boy,” according to the authors of the study.

Soccer is actually among the most dangerous sports for young female athletes when it comes to head injuries, according to the study. The researchers explored concussions risks and rates in numerous high school sports, including but not limited to soccer, basketball, softball, baseball, wrestling, and volleyball. In those sports, female soccer players tended to have the highest number of concussions.

Concussions are Becoming More Common in Youth Sports

One of the most worrying aspects of the study is that the researchers concluded concussion rates are rising in youth sports generally, despite the attention coaches and schools are paying to concussion and TBI protocols. Why are more girls who play soccer suffering concussions?

Some commentators believe there is a gender gap in athletic training. In general, youth athletes do not have as much experience as college-level or professional players. Yet sometimes parents question whether girls soccer players are receiving the same training as boys soccer players surrounding proper ways to fall on the field, as well as how to head a soccer ball. Even with the best training, however, sports-related concussions can still occur.

Schools do have concussion protocols in place, but it is always important to think about improvement — better ways to train players to avoid and to deal with injury, and better ways of emphasizing the importance of self-reporting symptoms of a concussion. Many youth athletes do not tell coaches or parents when they have signs of a concussion, which can make recovery much more difficult.

Seek Advice from a Poway Brain Injury Lawyer

Youth concussions often occur because of another party’s negligence. If your child suffered a TBI while playing high school sports, you should learn more about your legal options. An experienced Poway brain injury attorney can speak with you today. Contact the Walton Law Firm to learn more about how we assist injury victims throughout San Diego County.

See Related Blog Posts: More Than Concussions Cause CTE, New Study Says FDA Approves New Blood Test to Detect Concussions

(image courtesy of Jeffrey F Lin)

Athletes and other individuals in Valley Center who sustain concussions and other traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) may be more likely to develop early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, according to a recent study reported in Science Daily. Although the researchers behind the study emphasize that their results should not prevent parents from allowing their children to play sports and to engage in other extracurricular activities, it is nonetheless important to recognize that, for the first time, there is a clear link between TBI and Alzheimer’s disease.

If you want to read the study in detail, you can find the results published in the peer-reviewed journal Neuropsychology. In the meantime, what else should Southern California residents know about the new study?

Details of the TBI and Alzheimer’s Study

The recent study was conducted by researchers at the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute at UT Southwestern. Dr. Munro Cullum, the lead researcher on the study who also works as a neuropsychologist, oversaw a team that analyzed approximately 2,100 cases of traumatic brain injury and dementia. More specifically, the researchers assessed individuals who sustained a TBI that resulted in “loss of consciousness greater than five minutes” who were also “diagnosed with dementia 2 ½ years earlier than those who had not experienced TBI.”

This study was the first of its kind to use “autopsy-confirmed cases of Alzheimer’s disease” in order to assess the connection between dementia and head trauma. What did they find? In brief, the authors of the study concluded that there is a correlation between sustaining a TBI and developing Alzheimer’s earlier on. Until this study, scientists had explored the links between concussions and dementia, but they could not confirm a clear connection between the two.

Brain Injury Victims may Develop Dementia Earlier Than Others, but We Still Need More Research

How much earlier can a TBI victim begin developing signs of Alzheimer’s than a person who never suffered a brain injury? Previous studies have suggested that a TBI diagnosis “can accelerate onset of Alzheimer’s by up to nine years,” but Dr. Cullum and others emphasize that we need more research on this topic in order to answering many remaining questions. For example, scientists do not yet know what it is that happens in the brain after a TBI that contributes to dementia, or what other factors may be involved in causing dementia after a TBI. For instance, are some TBI sufferers more susceptible to dementia than others? It is possible that the level of inflammation from a TBI plays a role in determining whether dementia will occur, as well as how early, but genetic factors also may be involved.

All of these questions require additional research. According to Dr. Cullum, though, “solving these mysteries may take decades given the lack of detailed TBI history being kept on many patients.” In other words, there is not always sufficient information about TBI patients for current researchers to use the available information to draw conclusions. In the meantime, as we noted above, Dr. Cullum underscores that parents should not panic to the point that they do not allow their children to play any sports at all. While we do know there is a connection between TBI and dementia, we cannot yet say for certain how, when, and why one causes the other.

Speak with a Valley Center Brain Injury Attorney

If you or your child recently suffered a concussion or another form of TBI, you should speak with a Valley Center brain injury attorney to learn more about your options. Contact the Walton Law Firm to speak with an advocate today.

See Related Blog Posts: Traumatic Brain Injuries Linked to Intestinal Damage San Clemente Teens and Concussion Risks: What Do Parents Need to Know?

(image courtesy of Joao Victor Xavier)

If your child plays football or another contact sport in Vista, it is important to learn more about a recent study suggesting that other hits to the head—and not just concussions—can cause chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). According to a recent report in the Washington Post, a new study has examined the brains of teenage athletes and has determined that signs of CTE appear even when those teen athletes did not sustain concussions but simply received hits to the head.

Since information about CTE and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) entered into our lexicon, we have been taught that concussions are the cause of this degenerative disease. Now, however, it looks as if blows to the head that are not severe enough to cause a concussion may also result in this debilitating and ultimately deadly disease.

Concussions May be Irrelevant in Triggering CTE

According to Dr. Lee Goldstein, one of the authors of the recent study and an associate professor at Boston University School of Medicine and College of Engineering, “the concussion is really irrelevant for triggering CTE.” Rather, he explained, “it’s really the hit that counts.” This study undercuts years of news headlines about CTE and its causes, which have linked concussions to the degenerative disease. Now, this new study suggests, any type of hit to the head may end up having significant long-term health implications.

The study was conducted by research at Boston University, and the findings were published in the peer-reviewed neurology journal Brain. It involved analysis of the brains of teenagers who had sustained head injuries in conjunction with head trauma in mice. The researchers concluded that “the same brain pathology that we observed in teenagers after head injury was also present in head-injured mice.” In both cases, the brain pathology had no ties to concussions. As such, Goldstein clarified, the “findings provide strong causal evidence linking head impact to TBI and early CTE, independent of concussion.”

Many Athletes with Signs of CTE do Not Have a History of Concussions

Previously, doctors believed that CTE was linked to a history of multiple concussions. Yet that causal assumption could not explain why many athletes—about 20%—who show signs of CTE do not have a history of concussions. Goldstein explained how important it will be to treat athletes who sustain hits to the hit that do not rise to the level of concussion in order to prevent further trauma that could lead to CTE. “There are many players who are hit, who are hurt and who aren’t getting help because it’s clear they’re not at the level of concussion. Their brains are not in good shape and they go on to the next hit and the next one.”

The clear takeaway message is this: Repeated hits to the head, even when those hits to the head are not significant enough to cause a concussion, eventually can lead to CTE. While researchers are continuing to explore the reasons that CTE manifests in some cases and not in others, it is important for teen athletes in particular to avoid taking hits to the head.

Contact a Vista Brain Injury Lawyer

Was your teen recently diagnosed with a head injury or a concussion as a result of playing contact sports? You should speak with an experienced Vista brain injury attorney about your case. Contact the Walton Law Firm to learn more about options for seeking compensation.

See Related Blog Posts: San Clemente Teens and Concussion Risks: What do Parents Need to Know? New Study Addresses High School Football and Traumatic Brain Injury

(image courtesy of Jesse Orrico)

If your teenager plays contact sports or engages in other activities in San Clemente that increases his or her risk of a concussion, is it better to avoid these sports altogether? Do the benefits of team sports and individual recreational activities outweigh the potential harms associated with a mild traumatic brain injury (TBI)? According to a recent report from NPR, teens may be sustaining concussions at a higher rate than most parents would like to believe. The report cites a research letter that was recently published in the peer-reviewed journal JAMA, which indicates that “approximately 20 percent of teens . . . have been diagnosed with at least one concussion.”

What is causing teen concussions at such a high rate? What steps can parents take to reduce the risk of a TBI altogether, and to ensure that their child heals properly after sustaining a head trauma?

High School Students Surveyed About History of Head Injuries

The recent research letter in JAMA examined questionnaire responses from Monitoring the Future (MTF), an annual study run by the University of Michigan Survey Research Center. It surveys high school students from states across the country “about their behaviors and attitudes.” In total, the authors of the letter in JAMA looked at approximately 13,000 questionnaire responses in crafting their letter.

One of those authors, Philip Veliz, asked that the survey pose a new question to students completing the survey for the 2016 year: Have you ever had a concussion? As Veliz explains, simply knowing the rate of concussion among teenagers can help us to understand “prevalence rates and factors that correlate with the injury.” The MTF survey gathered information from teens in a relatively broad age range, from grades eight through twelve (in other words, kid aged 13 through 18). About 50% of the students were female, 47% were white, 19% were Hispanic, and 13% were Black.

Teens Who Play Contact Sports Have High Rates of Concussion

When teens sustain head injuries while playing contact sports, relatively few seek treatment in an emergency department. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that only about 4-5% of teens who suffer head injuries go to an emergency room. Some visit their family doctors instead, and some simply do not seek treatment at all. Previous surveys have reported that around 25% of all adults have sustained at least one concussion in their lifetimes. Based on the results of the current survey, it looks as though a large number of those concussions occur during the young adults years.

In most cases of teen concussions, the head injuries occurred during contact sports. The authors of the research letter noted higher rates of concussions among older white male teens, but more generally, they tended to see concussion rates spike for those who played the following sports:

• Football;
• Ice hockey; and
• Wrestling.

After a teen sustains a concussion, it is extremely important to seek medical attention and to follow a physician’s instructions for proper healing. Can parents also prevent concussions? The results of the survey suggest that contact sports simply may not be safe for teens, especially when so many concussions occur. At the same time, the survey does rely on students’ responses (as opposed to official medical documents). As such, the actual rate of concussion could be lower or even higher, depending upon students who misidentified injuries as well as students who sustained concussions but did not seek medical treatment.

Contact a San Clemente Brain Injury Lawyer

If your teen sustained a serious head trauma, an experienced San Clemente brain injury attorney can assist you. Contact the Walton Law Firm today.

See Related Blog Posts: New Study Addresses High School Football and Traumatic Brain Injury Can a New Protein Help Brain Injury Victims in Oceanside?

(image courtesy of Joao Victor Xavier)

Is high school football in San Marcos really as dangerous as scientists and physicians have been suggesting? Does playing high school football increase young athletes’ risk for sports-related concussions and more serious traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), in addition to placing them in danger of developing the degenerative brain condition known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)? Most physicians would say, in general, yes. However, according to a new study published in JAMA Neurology, not all high school football players appear to have sustained long-term damage from playing the sport in their youth. High school football players in the 1950s did not, on the whole, show signs of cognitive impairment.

This study appears to call into question some of the recent research on TBIs and high school football. What are the key takeaways from this study, and should this research change the way we manage the risk of brain injuries in contact sports?

Study Explores Link Between Youth Sports-Related Concussions and Long-Term Cognitive Health

One of the primary reasons for the study, according to its authors, is that we simply do not have enough information about how sports-related concussions sustained by youth athletes affects their long-term cognitive and mental health. The authors emphasize that most of the reports we have seen on CTE in retired professional football players come from posthumous examinations of those players’ donated brains, and such investigations may be “affected by referral bias.” It is particularly difficult, then, to make assessments concerning the long-term brain health of high school football players, especially when they do not continue playing the sport in college or at the professional level.

The researchers in this study emphasize that “there has been limited work examining the association of playing high school football with cognitive impairment and depression later in life.” Some studies have taken place, but there have been no randomized clinical trials, and research in general has had some conflicting outcomes.

In order to provide a more complete assessment of the TBI risks of high school football, the researchers proposed a “matched observational study.” In the study, they took a random sampling of thousands of Wisconsin high school graduates from 1957, and then looked specifically at graduates who had played football. They controlled for issues such as “adolescent IQ, family background, and educational level.” The ultimate goal was to “estimate the association of playing high school football with cognitive impairment and depression at 65 years of age.”

No Statistically Significant Link Between High School Football and Cognitive Impairment

The results of the study are surprising given recent work on football and head trauma. In assessing the cases of 3,904 individual men who played high school football, the researchers determined that “there was no statistically significant harmful association of playing football with a reduced composite cognition score.” The study also reported that, after adjusting for control factors, “playing football did not have a significant adverse association with . . . the likelihood of heavy alcohol use at 65 years of age” or with other outcomes such as depression, anger, anxiety, or hostility.

What can we take away from the study? Generally speaking, more research needs to be done on brain injury risks and high school football. In the meantime, if your child suffered a concussion or a serious TBI while playing high school sports, a San Marcos brain injury lawyer can discuss your options with you. Contact the Walton Law Firm today to learn more about filing a brain injury claim.

See Related Blog Posts: Can a New Protein Help Brain Injury Victims in Oceanside? Proposed Brain Injury Legislation Could Help San Marcos Residents

(Photo by João Victor Xavier)

Many residents of Oceanside have followed news about sports-related concussions and the lifelong effects of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). According to a recent article in the Washington Post, scientists have developed a new way of tracking and identifying a protein that may help to address the link between contact injuries and the risks of brain damage in athletes. How can a protein help to address TBIs in sports?

In brief, the protein may be able to help researchers develop better tests for identifying TBIs and treating them more quickly. What is this protein, exactly, and how might it be able to help residents of Oceanside and other areas of Southern California to obtain better treatment for brain injuries?

Learning More About the Protein Called “NFL”

Oddly enough, that protein is called neurofilament light, and is known as “NFL” for short. The acronym for the protein is ironic, of course, given that the National Football League, also known as the NFL, has been the subject of so much research surrounding debilitating head trauma and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative condition that results from multiple hits to the head over time.

How can the NFL protein help with brain injury assessment? In brief, a player’s level of NFL (the protein) increases with concussions. Yet in order to accurately identify it, scientists need to rely on technological innovations.

Research into the protein’s ability to help provide tests for brain injuries has come, in part, from an $800,000 grant from the National Football League’s “Head Health Challenge” that is co-sponsored by GE. According to Kevin Hrusovsky, the chief executive of the company Quanterix that recently received that grant, the name of the protein is “just a remarkable coincidence.”

New Technology Helps to Identify Protein that Could Help Treat TBIs

How is Quanterix using the grant money to develop better head injury assessments? Without the company’s technology, scientists likely would not have been able to identify the protein. As Hrusovsky explains, using the technology is like “being able to see a grain of sand in 2,000 Olympic-size swimming pools.”

This technology is essential, according to the article, “because only tiny amounts of the proteins, referred to as ‘biomarkers,’ dribble across the blood-brain barrier from the cerebrospinal fluid around the brain, where they would be found in larger quantities.” Being able to identify the proteins, and concussions, earlier on is essential to providing better treatment and care. While there are ways to identify proteins without this technology by taking a sample of a person’s cerebrospinal fluid, the article emphasizes that this method “requires a lumbar puncture, or a spinal tap, which is a lot to ask in the middle of a football game (or in any other time and place, for that matter).”

With the Quanterix technology, physicians may be able to identify biomarkers linked to concussions simply by analyzing an athlete’s blood sample taken through a finger prick. Implementation and regular use of such technology is not yet possible, but scientists are hopeful that they are on the right track to developing a “more ‘objective’ test for traumatic brain injury” that will not be invasive for players.

Contact an Oceanside Brain Injury Lawyer

At some point in the future, researchers hope to be able to use technology to identify concussions in a range of players, from youth athletes in Oceanside up through professional athletes in the National Football League. In the meantime, if you or someone you love sustained a TBI, you may be able to file a lawsuit. An experienced brain injury lawyer in Oceanside can help. Contact the Walton Law Firm today for more information.

See Related Blog Posts: Proposed Brain Injury Legislation Could Help San Marcos Residents Mouth Guards Helps Researchers to Assess Sports-Related Concussions (image courtesy of Jesse Orrico)

If you or someone you love recently sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) in San Marcos, you likely have many questions about how you will get medical care. Currently, regional disability services are not available to victims of TBIs when they sustain them after the age of 18, according to a report from KHTS Santa Clarita News. However, newly proposed legislation aims to allow younger California residents—between the ages of 18 and 22—to receive access to regional disability services. The proposed legislation, Senate Bill 283, is a measure introduced by State Senator Scott Wilk, a Republican from Santa Clarita.

If the bill passes, how will it better serve TBI victims in California? What else should you know in the meantime about traumatic brain injuries?

Senate Bill 283 Aims to Provide Disability Services to Broader Population

Senate Bill 283 seeks to make changes to Section 4512.5 of California’s Welfare and Institutions Code, which currently details resident access to developmental services for traumatic brain injuries. As we mentioned above, Wilk’s proposed legislation wants to broaden the population eligible for these services. If the bill does pass, California residents who are 18 and older, but likely those under the age of 22, still may be eligible for developmental disability services related to a TBI even if they sustain the injury after reaching the age of majority.

Why did Scott Wilk propose the bill? According to the state senator, “I can’t even imagine the horror a family goes through when a child suffers a traumatic brain injury, let alone to discover your child is ineligible for services simply because he or she is over 18 years old.” Wilk went on to explain that there is strong medical evidence to support the bill’s extension to younger Californians who are 18 and older: “The medical community believes the brain continues to develop until at least 22 years of age, so it makes sense for California’s eligibility threshold to match scientific data.”

The state senator started thinking about potential changes to the law after learning about a car accident in which a constituent’s child sustained a severe TBI in an auto accident just after his 18th birthday. As a result of the child’s age at the time of the crash, he was “ineligible for basic therapeutic services needed to restore normal functioning, such as speaking, walking, and self-care.”

What is a Developmental Disability, and Why Does it Include TBIs?

Currently, California law defines a developmental disability—that is currently covered by the law that the proposed legislation seeks to amend—as a disability that occurs before the child turns 18 years old. The law also specifies that the disability must have consequences that are likely to continue indefinitely (in other words, the disability cannot be fully treated or cured), and the condition must create a substantial disability for the affected person. Traumatic brain injuries currently are in the category of developmental disabilities, but based on the language of the law, the injury would have to occur prior to a child’s 18th birthday in order for him or her to be eligible for services.

If the proposed bill receives substantial bipartisan support and passes, the primary change it would make to the law would simply be an increase to the age of eligibility for TBI victims. It could impact Californians throughout the state.

In the meantime, if you or your child suffered a traumatic brain injury, you may be able to file a claim for compensation. A San Marcos brain injury lawyer can help. Contact the Walton Law Firm to discuss your options.

See Related Blog Posts: Mouth Guard Helps Researchers to Assess Sports-Related Concussions UC San Diego Research on Traumatic Brain Injuries (image courtesy of Jesse Orrico)

Just how pervasive are concussions and other forms of traumatic brain injury (TBI) among professional athletes? According to a recent article in MedPage Today, a recent study determined that more than 40% of all former NFL players show signs of having experienced TBI. In other words, many—if not all—of those former players could be at risk of developing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative disease of the brain that results from a “history of repetitive brain trauma,” according to an information sheet from the Boston University CTE Center.

Will these new findings impact the ways in which players approach the game? Or do we need even more evidence of the severity of football injuries in order to change the way the sport is played?

MRI Scans Showed Signs of Brain Injury How did the recent study look for signs of TBI among former NFL players? According to Francis Conidi, one of the researchers who is also the head of the Florida Center for Headache and Sports Neurology in Port St. Lucie, as well as a Florida State University faculty member, the study looked at 40 ex-players. They had those former players undergo diffusion tensor MRI scans, which showed traumatic brain injury markers in 43% of the former players (17 people).

How does this MRI technology work? In short, it looks for levels of water movement, and it can detect signs of traumatic brain injury when levels of water movement are below the same level for healthy people who are in the same age group. As Conidi explained at the American Academy of Neurology’s annual meeting, the former players determined to have TBI showed water movement on their MRI scans that were “2.5 standards deviations below those of healthy people of the same age.” Those scans, the article clarifies, “measured the amount of damage to the brain’s white matter, which connects different brain regions, based on the movement of water molecules in the brain tissue.”

Need for More Studies Involving Retired NFL Players When Conidi gave his presentation to members of the American Academy of Neurology, he articulated that the recent study was one of the largest to investigate signs of concussions in retired NFL players. The results of the study suggest that we need to see more research involving ex-players in order to better determine the dangers of playing professional football.

According to A. Gordon Smith, the University of Utah School of Medicine’s vice chair of research and chief of neuromuscular medicine, the implications of this study could be far-reaching. Not only should current NFL players and their families consider the findings as relevant to their personal health, but those involved in youth sports as well as “the larger landscape of brain injury” should think carefully about the MRI results and the implications of work as a professional athlete. As Conidi explained, “we found that longer careers placed the athletes at a higher risk of traumatic brain injury.” In addition, Conidi clearly connected the study’s findings to CTE, noting that “this research in living players sheds light on the possible pathological changes consistent with chronic traumatic encephalopathy that may be taking place.”

If you or someone you love got hurt while playing sports and sustained a brain injury, you may be able to file a claim for compensation. An experienced San Diego brain injury attorney can discuss your options with you. Contact the Walton Law Firm today to learn more about how we can help.

See Related Blog Posts: Mild Head Injuries Cause Long-Term Impairments Sports-Related Concussions, Science, and the NFL