Concussed adolescents are returning to driving sooner than might be safe (10/19/23 Newsletter)

This week's lead article, Concussed adolescents are returning to driving sooner than might be safe, is in the Youth category.

In this newsletter: Opportunities, Sports, Cannabis & Psychedelics, Diagnostics, Highlighting A New Resource, Self Care, Youth, and Culture.

We appreciate the Concussion Alliance volunteers, leadership team members, and staff members who created this edition:
Writers: Hannah Hartmann, Sravya Valiveti, Josh Wu, Kira Kunzman, and Ike Smalley

Editors: Conor Gormally and Malayka Gormally

Do you find the Concussion Update helpful? If so, forward this to a friend and suggest they subscribe.

Opportunities

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School are offering a free program to help optimize your recovery from a recent concussion.

Who can participate?

Ages 18-35 years old
Have a concussion from the previous 10 weeks
English fluency

What does it involve?

Participate in 4 virtual sessions (45 minutes each, over Zoom)
Complete 3 sets of questionnaires online through secure link about your emotional functioning and concussion symptoms.
You can receive up to $90 for participating in the program and answering questionnaires.

No cost, no medication and no travel

Want to learn more? Scan this QR code for more information and be contacted by study staff or Email MGHConcussionToolkit@partners.org

Friday, October 20, 12:00–1:00 pm PDT: A free, online Yoga Nidra (relaxation) course hosted by the Brain Injury Alliance of Washington. Use passcode 18CDHk with this Zoom link or this Zoom link.

Tuesday, October 24, 6 pm EDT: A free webinar, Prevention of Subsequent Concussions, presented by Dr. Stephanie Cowle & Dr. Firas Al Rawi and hosted by the Canadian Concussion Centre. Register in advance.

Friday, October 27, 8 am PDT: A free webinar, Lessons Learned in 30 Years Studying Traumatic Brain Injury, presented by Ann Glang, PhD, and hosted by The Center on Brain Injury Research and Training. Register in advance.

Friday, October 27, 9 am - 12:00 pm PDT: A free online workshop, Mental Health and Trauma-informed Care, presented by The Center on Brain Injury Research and Training. Register in advance.

Nov. 30 & Dec. 1: attend (in-person or virtually) the 7th Annual CTE Conference hosted by the Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. Register in advance. $100 for virtual attendance.

Sports

Sports-related concussions earlier in the season may have a quicker resolution of symptoms

Blog

A retrospective cohort study by Jacob Jo et al. revealed that sport-related concussions occurring during the early third of the season exhibited a quicker resolution of symptoms than those occurring in the later third of the season, although this finding did not remain statistically significant in a multivariate analysis.

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Cannabis & Psychedelics

PTSD: MDMA-assisted therapy is more effective for PTSD than therapy alone

Blog

Research published in Nature Medicine by Mitchell and colleagues found that MDMA-assisted manualized inner-directed therapy (MDMA-AT) is a more effective treatment than manualized inner-directed therapy alone for improving moderate to severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

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Diagnostics

Early speech-language pathology screening can aid in timely referral and treatment for memory, attention, organization problems post-concussion

Blog

Recent findings from a study published in American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation revealed that using a speech-language pathology screening checklist may prove beneficial in predicting the need for a speech-language pathology referral for pediatric concussions.

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Highlighting a new resource!

New website resource: Concussions and Individuals with Pre-Existing Disability

Blog

We are excited to announce the publication of a new resource on our website, addressing concussions in Individuals with a Pre-Existing Disability. To our knowledge, this is the only resource of its kind on the web; it includes up-to-date research on how pre-existing disabilities impact the diagnosis, treatment, and recovery from concussions.

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Self-Care

Techniques to improve fatigue following a brain injury

Blog

Did you know that “87% of brain injury survivors feel that fatigue has a negative impact on their life”? This high percentage was a finding from a study about fatigue after TBI by the UK charity Headway. A web page from Headway’s informational website shares important recommendations regarding coping with fatigue following a brain injury. These helpful instructions come from Headway’s Managing fatigue after brain injury booklet.

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Youth

Concussed adolescents are returning to driving sooner than might be safe

Blog

In a study presented at the American Neurological Association annual meeting, researcher Catherine M. McDonald, PhD, RN, FAAN, found that many adolescents with concussions return to driving sooner than might be safe. Robert Herpen, in an article for Helio, notes, “Those with concussion had more trouble with decision-making and reaction times than those without.”

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Culture

The Standard Advice for Concussions is Wrong: Concussion Alliance quoted in The Atlantic

Blog

In June, Leadership Team Member Dr. Elizabeth Sandel and I had the opportunity to (separately) talk with Tove Danovich for The Atlantic article The Standard Advice for Concussions Is Wrong. Tove and I had an in-depth conversation, and the article was published in The Atlantic on October 6th; the article includes a quote from me and two quotes from Dr. Sandel, Board Chair for Concussion Alliance.

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