Common sense and moderation can matter a ton in maintaining good health, as recent news reports show, particularly with kids and concussions, middle-aged adults and heart disease, and collegiate alcohol abuse. With youngsters returning to school and so many of them participating in sports and recreation programs, it’s good that the federal Centers for Disease….
Continue ReadingBrain Injury
As 2018 season kicks off, college football reckons with head trauma harms
College football has kicked off its fall season with a flourish, but the signs are increasing that concerns about players’ health and safety may slash at the game’s size, spectacle, and importance. Just as the pro leagues were forced to answer in court for the harms that athletes suffer due to repeated blows to their….
Continue ReadingMillions of teens suffer concussions as experts link head trauma to suicide risk
Rigorous researchers avoid leaping to unfounded conclusions, but it’s hard not to look at two separate studies on areas of high current interest and just go “Hmmm ….” In the first work, experts from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed available reports and surveys to find that 15.1 percent of American high….
Continue ReadingMaryland tragedy underscores need for tough safeguards for players’ health
In College Park, Md., new cooling tents have sprouted on the University of Maryland’s football practice field, where the training staff also is taking pains now to provide adequate cold drinks and breaks to players. Observers say the pre-season regimens, however, are not only marked by greater attentiveness to the young athletes’ needs, they’re also….
Continue ReadingNFL settlements raise new questions on head trauma and Parkinson’s and ALS
The National Football League, which long has resisted the growing reality that game-related head blows can cause major harms to its players, may be providing yet new and unintended warnings about the sustained damages of concussions. The Los Angeles Times reported that pro football’s pay-outs, as part of its billion-dollar head-injuries settlement with NFL players….
Continue ReadingNHL sells its players short by failing to acknowledge harms of head blows
The 2018 Stanley Cup may rest for a bit as the pride and joy of enthusiasts in the nation’s capital and of its title-winning team. But as fans of the pro and amateur game look to the future, they may have reason to be downcast about hockey’s most important component: its players. Author Ken Dryden….
Continue ReadingA bit of optimism for the 65+: a dozen years on average of cognitive health
As many as five million Americans already have Alzheimer’s and other dementia-related conditions, and their resulting loss of cognitive capacity and personal control rank among the top causes for health dread among those 55 and older, polls show. So it’s worth noting that new studies are showing that seniors 65 and older get on average….
Continue ReadingWhy are some ER doctors refusing to give stroke patients ‘brain-saving’ care?
It’s no April Fool joke: Emergency doctors across the country, according to the New York Times, have been defying widely accepted standards of care and withholding a drug that rigorous clinical trials and medical specialists long have recommended for stroke victims. Administration of the drug, tPA or tissue plasminogen activator, helps to prevent brain injury after a….
Continue ReadingFDA approves a blood test to diagnose severity of traumatic brain injury
Federal officials offer a glimmer of hope in caring for head injuries, especially the sharp, repeated, and often damaging blows that afflict athletes and which millions worldwide are witnessing, yes, as part of the Winter Olympic Games. The federal Food and Drug Administration has announced that it has approved a long-awaited blood test that can….
Continue ReadingWinter Games and Super Bowl offer health takeaways, too
The Winter Olympic Games and the Super Bowl can offer fans not just exciting sports spectacles but also important health insights and information— everything from the risks of viruses and the value of hand washing to the dangers of head blows and why Americans may be slowly changing their minds about how they feel about….
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