By all the press accounts, it looks like the new co-chairmen of the NFL’s committee on head injuries fumbled their first appearance at a Congressional hearing on football and concussions Monday. One would have thought that Dr. Richard Ellenbogen and…
NFL Commissioner Goodell Asks 44 Governors To Pass Youth Concussion Laws
National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell last week sent letters to the governors of 44 states imploring them to pass laws, like the one in Washington state, that protect young student athletes who suffer concussions. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hvOCfeO2dM98z2jlCj7eqv0lDfUwD9FSM7OO2 Goodell’s letter, according to the…
Female High School Athletes Describe The Lingering After Effects Of Their Concussions
Female high school athletes last week told a congressional committee about how the concussions they sustained playing sports changed their lives for the worse, as they continue to struggle to do tasks as simple as basic arithmetic. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/21/sports/football/21concussions.html The House Committee on Education and…
House Committee Sets May 24 New York Hearing On Concussions
The House Judiciary Committee has set a May 24 hearing in New York to get information on concussions and other brain trauma in football. http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/12/house-committee-to-discuss-concussions-in-new-york-forum/ So far the committee has held three events on brain injury and the National Football…
As Part Of Policy Change On TBI, Defense Department Readies Databases On Concussions
With traumatic brain injury (TBI) turning out to be one of the plagues of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. Defense Department is creating databases to track such cases. It’s a smart move. http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20100420_9199.php?oref=topstory The initiative is part…
Injured Running Backs Are Damaged Goods To NFL
National Football League scouts are concerned about the injuries, including concussions, that prospective running backs have received, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/91289844.html Writer Bob McGinn – perhaps tongue in cheek, perhaps not – writes, “Across draft boards across…
Doctors Extract Live Explosive From Soldier’s Head In Afghanistan
Sometimes the truth is just as strange as fiction. The medical drama Grey’s Anatomy had a two-part episode several years ago about surgeons having to extract an unexploded bomb from a man’s chest. U.S. military surgeons in Afghanistan recently had…
Global Aviation Regulators Plan To Pool Safety Data
This week an alliance of aviation groups and regulators agreed to gather and collectively study airline-safety information from around the globe, in order to find ways to better respond to safety problems. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303601504575154163023746980.html?KEYWORDS=aviation+regulators As part of the agreement signed last…
Idaho Concussion Bill Held Up Over Liability Concerns
Idaho is considering legislation to set tough guidelines on student athlete concussions, but the bill has been stalled because of fears of liability issues. http://www.idahoreporter.com/2010/plan-to-get-tough-on-concussions-stalls-in-committee-over-legal-concerns/ Idaho’s proposed law, like the one pioneered by Washington state, would require that athletes get…
Science Making Progress in Altering Negative Memories
It may sound like science fiction, but researchers are exploring ways to change people’s memories, according to a story in The Wall Street Journal Tuesday. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703447104575118021991832154.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsThird Right now a common hypertension drug is being tested on rape victims, soldiers who…