Although medicine has made advances in treating strokes, more than 795,000 Americans suffer them annually, they kill 140,000 of us each year, and they’re a leading cause of disability. But medical experts, revising their care guidelines, say that patients with the most common kind of stroke — a clot blocking blood flow to the brain….
Continue ReadingBrain Injury
Repeated, lesser head hits, and not just concussions, linked to brain harms
As the science keeps getting deeper, the news keeps getting worse about the harms that can be inflicted by repeated blows to the head in sports — and in life. The path-breaking medical scientists at Boston University and elsewhere, who have helped to establish how concussions, notably in football, may lead to the onset of….
Continue ReadingWhoa, nelly: Equestrian sports found to be a top cause of adult brain trauma
Get out of the crowds and traffic of the nation’s capital, and into the rolling green of Virginia and Maryland, where thrives the stately and multibillion-dollar business of breeding, raising, showing, and riding horses. That bucolic equestrian life also has a less-known health worry: Horseback riding, not a contact sport, turns out to be the….
Continue ReadingAdults can make holidays extra special by focusing on kids’ health & well-being
Kids can be a major part of what makes the holidays special. But if a house full of the little darlings hasn’t already driven the grown-ups around them to total distraction, parents, grandparents, and uncles, aunties may want to consider a few ways to ensure youngsters stay healthy and wise in the days ahead, including:….
Continue ReadingDoes modern medicine give patients with major brain trauma really fair care?
Nick Tullier once was a handsome, strapping sheriff’s deputy in Baton Rouge, La. Then, in a blink, he and five others were gunned down by a former Marine and black separatist who had come from Missouri to Louisiana to kill cops. Tullier was one of three deputies who survived the attack. What happened next to….
Continue ReadingPay attention to road safety to ensure holiday cheer
Tens of millions of Americans, starting with Thanksgiving, hit the roads for a hectic season of family get-togethers and holiday social events. And though the alarms have sounded for a bit now, there’s yet more evidence that our highways are killing us at far worse rates than Americans have a right to expect.. David Leonhardt,….
Continue ReadingOverzealous youth athletics can result in hobbled adults later
Here’s another painful reminder to grownups about youngsters and sports: Moderation matters, and youthful games are supposed to fun, diverting, and character building—and most definitely should not leave today’s aspiring athletes as tomorrow’s hobbled adults. The New York Times has reported on what a pediatric sports medicine expert has described as a “dirty little secret”….
Continue ReadingHeads up: Youth concussions may be tied to later multiple sclerosis diagnoses
Although state and local laws may be curbing some of the harms the young can suffer with sports-related concussions, parents, coaches, teachers, and players may wish to reconsider even more the risks of head traumas: That’s because early such injuries may be tied to later diagnoses of multiple sclerosis. To be sure, this is a….
Continue ReadingFor young athletes, head contact and infections can pose costly risks
Parents happily send their eager youngsters off to a demanding array of sports activities, in the belief that athletics will improve their health and well-being. But, especially for active young men, life as a jock can carry costly long-term risks and immediate infection perils. A Yale economist and colleagues have scrutinized available public data and….
Continue ReadingPost-mortem study confirms extensive damage to brains of NFL players
Football players and fans, if they had doubts before, have taken yet another hit to their favorite sport, with a retrospective study of hundreds of pro players’ brains finding a damaging disorder in a startling percentage of the donated organs. Experts reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association that 110 of 111 brains….
Continue Reading