This week’s lead article, Altered Brain Connectivity in Posttraumatic Headache: Insights into Potential Biomarkers and Neuroplasticity, is in the Pathophysiology category.

Welcome to the first newsletter of our 2024 Summer Concussion Education & Advocacy Internship! This summer, we’ll be publishing newsletters every week to give our fantastic cohort of interns opportunities to practice their accessible science writing skills! You can learn more about the internship program here.

In this newsletter: Opportunities, Pathophysiology, Self Care, Veterans & Service Members, Statistics, and Youth.

We appreciate the Concussion Alliance interns who created this edition:
Writers: Sahil Bains, Zoe Marquis, Sam Gossard, Gabriel Marotti, and Adalia Shultz

Editors: Malayka Gormally and Conor Gormally

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

Opportunities

Action alert from the Brain Injury Association of America: the U.S. Congress may cut all of the CDC’s brain injury and concussion-specific programs, including HEADS UP and the National Concussion Surveillance System. Click here for an easy form to contact your representative.
The form will automatically send your message to your U.S. Representative. You can optionally customize your message by adding your representative’s name, which you can find here by inputting your zip code.

August 20, 4 pm EDT: A live webinar, Attention and Information Processing Speed Following Brain Injury – An Interdisciplinary Approach, presented by Tracy Graham, MSP, CCC-SLP, CBIS, Amanda Heys, OTR/L, and Tori Stramara, DPT, CBIS, and hosted by the Brain Injury Association of America. Free to patients, $50 for CE credit; register in advance.

Pathophysiology

Altered Brain Connectivity in Posttraumatic Headache: Insights into Potential Biomarkers and Neuroplasticity

Featured

Pathophysiology

Research published in the Journal of Headache and Pain reveals altered connectivity between certain brain regions in patients with posttraumatic headache (PTH) following mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).

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Pathophysiology

Self Care

Nutrients common in the Mediterranean diet may promote healthy brain aging; novel study of nutrients in blood plasma, cognitive tests, and brain imaging

Blog

Researchers identified 13 key nutrients that were found in higher concentrations for those in the delayed brain aging group than those in the accelerated brain aging group. The 13 nutrients, including fatty acids, antioxidants, carotenoids, and vitamins, are commonly found in the Mediterranean diet in foods such as fish, nuts, oils, and leafy greens.

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Veterans & Service Members

High cumulative blast exposure in military personnel is associated with worsening brain function and lower quality of life

Blog

In a multimodal study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Natalie Gilmore et al. found that higher cumulative blast exposure was associated with decreased brain function and lower quality of life. According to a New York Times article, the damage seen in these brains was not CTE but a new pathology.

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Statistics

Study finds 1 in 8 older Americans suffered TBI in a representative cohort

Blog

Study finds 1 in 8 older Americans suffered a TBI in a representative cohort

In a longitudinal study published in JAMA Network Open, researchers discovered that over 18 years, 13% of older Americans suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI).

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Youth

Children sustaining concussions outside of sports see specialists later and have less access to appropriate care despite being more common than sport-related concussions

Blog

A recent study in The Journal of Pediatrics found that recreation-related concussions (RRC)––such as those from recess, gym class, and play––and non-sport or recreation-related concussions (non-SRRC)––from events like motor vehicle crashes, falls, and assault––are more common among patients 5 through 12 years old than sports-related concussions (SRC) from organized sports.

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