The Journal of Pediatric Psychology recently published a study by Charlotte Gagner et al. that documents how mTBI in early childhood can lead to changes in externalizing behaviors (actions towards others) and internalizing behaviors (attitudes towards the self) overtime.

SuperBetter, an app designed to help people build personal resilience through gameplay, is currently offering their Concussion Power Packs for free. The Power Packs are daily activities that can be played in the app and guide users through their recovery with power-ups, bad guys, and quests. They were developed for a clinical trial examining the impact of using the app.

Melissa Martin, a former cheerleader at the University of California at Berkeley, has filed a lawsuit against the school, her coaches, and USA Cheer, for negligent treatment after being diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome.

A Washington Post article by James Ludden and Eben Novy-Williams discusses the impacts of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) in sports. They also point out inconsistencies in the public’s reaction to CTE risk.

In a study published in Annals of Neurology, authors Jesse Mez et al. examined the brains of deceased athletes for evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and found that the risk of CTE approximately doubled for every 2.6 years spent playing American football.

An article published in Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach demonstrates that giving athletes the skills necessary to report a concussion could be a useful way to address the issue of under-reported concussions.

Since TBIs are not studied as a domestic violence issue, clinicians are often unprepared for disclosures of domestic violence and may attribute survivors’ concussion-like symptoms to mental illness or trauma from abuse. Meanwhile, many of the organizations aimed at helping survivors of domestic violence are not prepared to help with TBIs.

According to Medscape, a study found the "risk for developing MS overtime nearly doubled in this population compared with people without a history of concussion."

A $2.2 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention allowed researchers at Case Western Reserve University to study how to assist students who are recovering from TBIs to return to school and funding programs such as the Return to Learn program in Washington state.

A clinical report in Pediatrics by Andrew Watson et al., generated by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness discusses risk factors and prevention tactics for youth injuries in soccer.

In an interview for Contemporary Pediatrics, two doctors discuss some effective treatments for dealing with concussion symptoms in children.

Given that collisions from heading are the main cause of concussions in soccer, the University of Washington Sports Institute saw a need for a program to help teach youth soccer players better heading techniques. As a result, they launched the Aerial program in collaboration with a former professional player and another organization.

Currently, patients are not tested for traumatic brain injuries in forensic nursing exams following domestic violence, strangulation, or rape. However, according to a study in the Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma conducted by Bridget Ralston et al. from the University of Arizona, testing for TBIs could help victims seek and receive proper medical care.

In an article published in The Sport Journal, Luis Gude and Gillian Hotz, from the University of Miami, argue that cheerleading involves complex acrobatic maneuvers that put participants at risk for serious injuries—especially concussions; denying that cheerleading is a sport means denying its participants access to the same concussion resources provided for other athletes.

Researchers tested male and female adolescent mice, with different severities of TBI, for sensitivity to the rewarding effects of cocaine. The male mice showed increased sensitivity after TBI, but the females with high levels of female sex hormones at the time of their TBI showed neuroprotection against cocaine sensitivity.

Researchers at UC San Francisco have done an extensive review of cases involving children with post-concussion syndrome (PCS). They have established what treatments are most applicable for different symptoms.

While concussion in sports discussions often focus on football, in high school by far the biggest culprit is girl’s soccer. While the explanation for this gender gap in concussion risk is debated (some claim a later neck muscle development in girls), the difference of 12.1% more concussions in girls than boys is shocking (34.5% to 22.4%).

Concussion Alliance provided educational components for the Sports and Traumatic Brain Injury conference, hosted by the Northwest Brain Injury Symposium (NWBIS). The event was part of the NWBIS lecture series and compliments the Smithsonian traveling exhibit “Hometown Teams.”

Concussion Alliance is now partnering with TeachAids to further our mutual concussion education efforts. Concussion Alliance connected the Northwest Brain Injury Symposium with the CrashCourse film, which they presented at their July conference.

This article is a brief history on the research into light therapy (photobiomodulation) using LED light devices as a potential treatment for mTBI, persistent post-concussion symptoms, and possible CTE.