In this newsletter: Opportunities, Education, Diagnostics, Self-Care, Therapies Currently Available, Veterans & Service Members, Statistics, Youth, and Women’s Health.

The lead article, ADHD and Learning Disabilities increase risk of concussions, is in the Youth category.

We appreciate the Concussion Alliance Volunteers who created this edition:

Writers: Minhong Kim, Lori Mae Yvette Calibuso Acob, Sam Kanny, Conor Gormally & Malayka Gormally

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

February 3, 11 am PST: free webinar, Off the Soccer/Football Pitch: Concussion, CTE, and Caring for a Loved One, hosted by CLF. Featured speakers are Dawn Astle (Jeff Astle Foundation), Rachel Walden (daughter of former England defender Rod Taylor), and John Mousinho, chair of the Profession Soccer Footballer’s Association (PFA).

February 8, 9 am PST: free Traumatic Brain Injury: Addressing Inequities Speaker Series. The three speakers for Feb 8 will cover TBI and IPV; TBI, substance abuse, and housing supports; and TBI “under the Black paradox of life.” The series is hosted by the University of Toronto and supported by a Canada Research Chair in Traumatic Brain Injury in Underserved Populations. Register in advance.

February 11, 11 am PST: free class on Secondary Loss and Grief, such as grief due to injury or illness that impacts daily functioning or lifestyle. Hosted by the BIAWA and facilitated by Counseling Psychologist Idil Aksoz-Efe, Ph.D., Chaplaincy Healthcare; register in advance.

February 17, 1 pm PST: free class on Fatigue and Brain Injury, facilitated by Clinical Neuropsychologist Nickloas Dasher, Ph.D. and hosted by the BIAWA. Register in advance.

Survey: help influence priorities for future concussion research. The Concussion Priority Setting Partnership is asking people to take a survey to help identify research priorities. The survey takes 10-15 minutes to complete.

Education - 2 topics

Concussed students have not fared worse during the pandemic

Read this synopsis on our blog post.

Superb training manual for providers on how to do a virtual concussion exam

Please see our blog post to read this synopsis.

Diagnostics

Predicting prolonged concussion recovery with a decision tree model

To read this synopsis, please see our blog post.

Self-Care

Risk factors and intervention strategies for preventing falls & brain injury in older adults

To read this synopsis, please read our blog post.

Therapies Currently Available

Post-concussion return to play injuries reduced for athletes who received neuromuscular training, Colorado study finds

To read this synopsis, please see our blog post.

Veterans & Service Members - 2 topics

Veterans with mild brain injury history show cognitive deficits in line with early Parkinson’s Disease patients

To read this synopsis, please read our blog post.

Clinical trial for veterans and active-duty military members with insomnia

Military service members and veterans sometimes struggle with insomnia after coming home. Luckily, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a common treatment that can help. But in-person sessions aren’t always feasible, especially now with COVID-19 restrictions. The Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine is testing a CBT-I (Internet Guided CBT) app that was made specifically for military personnel with a history of head injury. This online study is open for enrollment and needs volunteers. Interested? Contact us at cnrm-ecbti@usuhs.edu or call/text 301-456-5474. For more information, see our blog post about this study.

Statistics

Study finds persistent balance and vision impairments in patients four weeks to six months after concussion at similar rates regardless of self-reported symptom presence