This is our 100th Concussion Update Newsletter! Thank you to all of our readers for helping us get to this point, your continued support means the world to us!

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

The lead article this week, Menstrual cycle affects concussion in adolescents, is in the Women’s Health category.

We appreciate the Concussion Alliance Volunteers who created this edition:

Writers: Minhong Kim, Josh Wu, Ming Shen, Shelly Seth, Claire Holmes, Aaron Banse, Sravya Valiveti, & Conor 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

Tuesday, April 26, 6 pm EST: free webinar, Concussion Mythology and Non-Evidence-Based Therapies with Dr. Carmela Tartaglia, hosted by the Canadian Concussion Centre. Register in advance.

Wednesday, April 27, 11 am PST: free online class, Talking to Others About Your Brain Injury, with Dr. Amy Jo Starosta, PhD. Hosted by the Brain Injury Alliance of Washington State, you do not need to be in WA to attend. Register in advance.

Friday, April 29, 6-8 pm EST: free virtual event via Zoom, Concussion Annual Public Forum: Concussions in the Home and Workplace, including Falls and Interpersonal Violence: Prevention and Treatment, hosted by the Canadian Concussion Centre. Register in advance.

Be part of a study on brain health and head impacts from sport: The Head Impact and Trauma Surveillance Study (HITTS) is recruiting study participants who will take a fully online, annual survey. "Anyone age 40 or older who played soccer or tackle football at any level (youth, high school, college, or pro/elite) can enroll."

Education

Undergraduate medical students in North America are not receiving adequate concussion education, study finds

To read this synopsis, please see our blog post.

Sports

Australian Football League funded study on concussions in former players, then was uncooperative and restrictive, lead researcher claims

To read this synopsis, please see our blog post.

Pathophysiology

Researchers find vestibular dysfunction stems from injury to the peripheral vestibular system

Please see our blog post to read this synopsis.

Diagnostics

UC Davis Medical Center begins use of new portable MRI technology

According to a press release from UC Davis Health, UC Davis Medical Center is the first Northern California hospital to adopt the recently FDA-cleared Swoop Portable MR Imaging system. The Swoop system can be taken to a patient’s bedside, plugged into a wall outlet, and operated with an iPad–with imaging data of patients’ brains available to clinicians in minutes.

While this technology may be more applicable to patients with complicated mild TBI or moderate TBI, the introduction of portable MR Imaging technology will drive significant increases in the accessibility of this imaging for concussion and brain injury patients–especially those presenting to emergency departments.

Self-Care

Military dietitians test mTBI patients for nutritional deficiencies, design individualized nutrition plans

See our blog post to read this synopsis.

Therapies Currently Available

Excellent interview with a vestibular therapist

We recommend this 11-minute video from the University of Michigan Concussion Center, “Perspectives from a Physical Therapist: Bara Alsalaheen.” In the video, Alsalaheen goes over the vestibular system, how it can affect concussion patients, how it’s treated, what vestibular therapy patients can expect from a program of care, and other fundamental questions. The video is part of the Michigan Concussion Center’s “Teach-Out” series, which includes interviews spanning patient perspectives, the science of concussion, concussion legislation, concussion in media, and more.

Veterans & Service Members

VA polytrauma program has telehealth services for veterans with TBI

An article for the VA blog VAntage Point highlights the VA Hudson Valley’s Tele TBI program, which includes “a TBI specialist, speech therapist, mental health provider, and TBI telehealth coordinator.” The article, by Dr. Joel Scholten, gives the story of Navy Veteran Conan O’Rourke to show how the VA has adapted their polytrauma system of care to provide veterans “access to specialized polytrauma and TBI clinical services no matter where they live.”

Veterans with TBI, concussion, and persistent symptoms should reach out to VAs in their region to see if they can access polytrauma telehealth care. Those interested in learning more about the polytrauma system of care can start here.

Help steer research through virtual meetings in Ohio, Texas, North Carolina, and Florida – Mind Over Matter: A Veteran-driven Roadmap to Research on Traumatic Brain Injury

The input from mTBI and their caregivers will be used to develop a M.O.M. Roadmap for Research on TBI featuring PCOR topics and CER questions that matter most to veterans which will be translated into a publicly accessible resource. Virtual meetings will be taking place in the states of Florida, Ohio, South Carolina, and Texas lasting up to one hour and will run monthly through May 2023. As a token of appreciation for participation, the veteran and/or community stakeholder will receive a $10 gift card, a $10 meal card, and a challenge coin.

If you are interested in participating in the project and would like more information, please contact the Project Manager, S. Juliana Moreno (fau_smoreno@health.fau.edu).