NFL Hall of Famer "Iron Mike" Webster's life ended in 2002 when he suffered a heart attack at age 50. Four Super Bowl rings, nine Pro Bowls, and voted to the NFL's all-time team in 2000, the driven, ultra-competitive Steelers' center drifted into a life of drug use, homelessness, and enormous suffering after retiring in 1988. In 2005, his son Garrett told ESPN that the only way his father could get to sleep was to taser himself into unconsciousness. Former teammates and friends offered assistance over the years but it wasn't enough. After Webster's death, forensic neuropathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu was determined to find neurological reasons for his cognitive decline. Seventeen years in the NFL at a time when safety precautions and concussion awareness were both minimal had resulted in thousands of impacts to his head. Though his brain looked normal at autopsy, Omalu pressed on until he found the abnormalities that we now call Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE. CTE and Alzheimer's CTE and Alzheimer's are both “neurodegenerative diseases.” That is, they are brain diseases that result in the progressive destruction of brain cells, eventually leading to cognitive, behavioral, and other impairments. Both Alzheimer’s and CTE can only be accurately diagnosed postmortem through a neuropathological examination of the brain and their progression has remained elusive. But clues about how Alzheimer's spreads from neuron to neuron are now emerging. Whether the same process of progression applies to CTE is currently unclear. Photo: Alzheimer's infects from neuron to neuron The inexorable spread of Alzheimer’s disease through the brain leaves dead neurons and forgotten thoughts in its wake. Researchers at Linköping University in Sweden are the first to show how toxic proteins are transferred from neuron to neuron. Through experiments on stained neurons, the research team – under the leadership of Martin Hallbeck, associate professor of Pathology – has been able to depict the process of neurons being invaded by diseased proteins that are then passed on to nearby cells. “The spread of Alzheimer’s, which can be studied in the brains of diseased patients, always follows the same pattern. But until now how and why this happens has not been understood,” says Hallbeck, who along with his research group has now published their results in The Journal of Neuroscience. The illness starts in the entorhinal cortex – a part of the cerebral cortex, and then spreads to the hippocampus. Both of these areas are important for memory. Gradually, pathological changes take place in more and more areas of the brain, while the patient becomes even sicker. Two proteins have been identified in connection with Alzheimer’s: beta amyloid and tau. Normally tau is found in the axons – the outgrowths that connect between neurons – where it has a stabilising function, while beta amyloid seems to have a role in the synapses where the neurons transfer signal substances to each other. But in Alzheimer’s patients, something happens with these proteins; autopsies reveal abnormal accumulations of both. Why they become abnormal is still unknown, but what is known is that it’s not the large accumulations, or plaques, that damage the neurons. Instead, smaller groups of beta amyloid – called oligomeres – seem to be the toxic form that gradually destroy the neurons and shrink the brain. “We wanted to investigate whether these oligomeres can spread from neuron to neuron, something many researchers tried earlier but didn’t succeed,” Hallbeck says. The study was inaugurated with an experiment on neuron cultures, where researchers injected oligomeres stained with a phosphorescent red substance called TMR using a very thin needle. The next day the neighbouring, connected neurons were also red, which showed that the oligomeres had spread. To test whether a sick neuron can “infect” others, they conducted a round of experiments with mature human neurons stained green and mixed with others that were red after having taken up stained oligomeres. After a day, approximately half of the green cells had been in contact with a few of the red ones. After two more days, the axons had lost their shape and organelles in the cell nucleus had started to leak. “Gradually more and more of the green cells became sick. Those that hadn’t taken up the oligomeres, on the other hand, weren’t affected,” Hallbeck says. The study is a breakthrough in understanding Alzheimer’s and its progress. If a way of stopping the transfer can be found, it could lead to a more effective inhibitor against the disease. Article: Spreading of neurodegenerative pathology via neuron-to-neuron transmission of beta-amyloid by Sangeeta Nath, Lotta Agholme, Firoz Kurudenkandy, Björn Granseth, Jan Marcusson and Martin Hallbeck. The Journal of Neuroscience, 27 June 2012. Photo: Alzheimer's infects from neuron to neuron: Two nerve cells, each about 10 micrometers large, are visible as shadows in this picture. From the beginning only the right one (yellow arrow) contained the toxic, red stained, oligomeric beta-amyloid. When these sick cells make contacts with the healthy, green labeled cells (black arrow), toxic beta-amyloid will spread through the neuronal projections (white arrow). Subsequently, also the green cell will become sick. Credit: Martin Hallbeck Source: The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Linköping University. Questions/comments? contact Jean Rickerson at jean@SportsConcussions.org

As female participation in sports grows rapidly, there is a popular notion that there are gender-related differences in athletes' responses to sports-related concussion, and prior research has supported these gender discrepancies. However, a Vanderbilt University Medical Center study, conducted to review symptoms and neurocognitive findings in male and female high school soccer players, shows no gender-related differences. "There has been good data that suggests girls score worse on neurocognitive testing following a sports-related concussion. Our hypothesis was that a tightly-controlled study would replicate what others have shown previously," said Scott Zuckerman, M.D., a neurosurgery resident who conducted the study with colleagues at the Vanderbilt Sports Concussion Center. The researchers selected 40 male and 40 female concussed patients who were matched, as closely as possible, for age, medical/psychiatric history, years of education, lack of special education assistance, history of psychiatric treatment, number of prior concussions, timing of pre- and post-concussion testing, and sport (all engaged in soccer). This is the first study to control for type of sport played when looking a gender differences, Zuckerman said. "Prior studies have used mixed groups of athletes from a variety of sports. We suspected that since concussions vary from sport to sport (i.e., helmets vs. none, varying biomechanical forces, etc.), if the variable of sport was controlled, gender differences might disappear." The only significant gender-related difference they could identify was that female soccer players reported a greater number of symptoms post-concussion. There were no significant differences in post-concussion neurocognitive scores. "We were somewhat surprised and were not sure what to expect in such a tightly controlled population," Zuckerman said. "Our hypothesis was that females would experience greater levels of acute, post-concussive, neurocognitive impairment than males, fitting with what most of the prior literature says, but we found virtually no difference between males and females." Zuckerman said this is a significant finding for the treatment of sports-related concussion. "When we see any child after concussion, we don't want to make snap decisions based on gender. Gender may not be as big a modifying factor as previously thought." This study is the first from V-SCoRe, or Vanderbilt Sports Concussion Research. Collaborators include Allen Sills, M.D., Gary Solomon, Ph.D., Andrew Gregory, M.D., Alex Diamond, D.O., and Jonathan Forbes, M.D., and medical students Mitchell Odom and Young Lee. "This effort is just getting off the ground, and we're investigating many more modifying factors in concussion, including age, sleep, symptoms, prior history of attention deficit disorder," Zuckerman said. "Our goal is to create new knowledge in this area and help providers better understand when a young athlete can return to play safely." Story Source: The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Vanderbilt University Medical Center, via Newswise. Journal Reference: Scott Zuckerman et al. Response to acute concussive injury in soccer players: is gender a modifying factor? Clinical article. Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics, 2012 DOI: 10.3071/2012.8.PEDS1239

COLUMBUS, Ohio – There is no magic test to determine when an athlete is ready to get back into the game after they have suffered a head injury. Researchers have started using an interactive video game, a tool many athletes are already using in rehabilitation, to test balance for concussion assessment and management. The reliability of the video game for assessing athletes’ concussions has not been confirmed, but a study by a sports medicine researcher from The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center may provide insight to the use of the Nintendo’s Wii Fit for concussion management. Team athletic trainers often determine whether an athlete has a concussion based on their physical examination, cognitive ability, self-report of symptoms and balance. "Student athletes love it because we have incorporated fun into their rehabilitation and concussion assessment," said Tamerah Hunt, director of research at the OSU’s Sports Medicine Concussion Program. “For many school districts, it is an affordable option and can be portable, making it convenient for sideline testing and travel with the team for away games.” Researchers from Ohio State and the University of Maryland are conducting baseline testing for concussion management in collegiate athletes, and will soon do the same among high-school athletes. Recent concussion guidelines suggest postural control is an important part of the assessment process, which makes balance an important piece of information in determining recovery from a head injury. “It’s not the perfect system, but can be considered as an option to provide basic objective information about balance,” said Hunt, whose previous research includes examining concussion recovery patterns among high school students in several states. “It’s another tool to have in our toolkit because determining when an athlete has recovered can be subjective,” Hunt admits. “Athletes are more likely to engage with a video game than to take another boring concussion test or admit they are still hurt,” said Hunt. “We currently base much of our assessment on an athlete telling us about their symptoms. The video game allows us to broadly analyze center of gravity, to help us be more objective.” Athletes participate in three different yoga poses as demonstrated on the Wii Fit game and are given a score which determines how well the athlete maintained center of balance. Baseline testing provides athletic trainers with an idea of how an athlete normally functions. If an athlete suffers a head injury at a later date, the athletic trainer can assess the balance of the athlete compared to their normal ability. According to Hunt, an athletic trainer must obtain the baseline measures to compare the athlete to themselves because everyone performs differently. Preliminary data suggests a moderate correlation to current methods used in concussion assessment, ranging from 0.75-0.82, depending on the stance. “Additional studies need to be performed to determine the long-term reliability of the measures and other factors associated with test scores, such as fatigue,” said Hunt. This is just the beginning of studies using alternative measures of balance assessment like the Wii Fit for concussion management. The National Collegiate Athletic Association concussion guidelines support using the video game as a postural assessment tool. It is not yet approved as a medical device by the Food and Drug Administration. Source: Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center -- May 2012 Questions/comments? contact Jean Rickerson at jean@SportsConcussions.org

Like emergency workers rushing to a disaster scene, cells called microglia speed to places where the brain has been injured, to contain the damage by ‘eating up’ any cellular debris and dead or dying neurons. Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, have now discovered exactly how microglia detect the site of injury, thanks to a relay of molecular signals. Their work, published May 24, 2012 in Developmental Cell, paves the way for new medical approaches to conditions where microglia’s ability to locate hazardous cells and material within the brain is compromised. “Considering that they help keep our brain healthy, we know surprisingly little about microglia,” says Francesca Peri, who led the work. “Now, for the first time, we’ve identified the mechanism that allows microglia to detect brain injury, and how that emergency call is transmitted from neuron to neuron.” When an emergency occurs, cries can alert bystanders, who will dial the emergency number. A call will go out over the radio, and ambulances, police or fire engines in the area will respond as needed. In the brain, Peri and colleagues found, injured neurons send out their own distress cry: they release a molecule called glutamate. Neighbouring neurons sense that glutamate and respond by taking up calcium. As glutamate spreads out from the injury site, this creates a wave of calcium swallowing. Along that wave, as neurons take up calcium they release a third molecule, called ATP. When the wave comes within reach, a microglia cell detects that ATP and takes it as a call to action, moving in that direction – essentially tracing the wave backwards until it reaches the injury. . Lost alert: when microglia (green) cannot detect ATP (bottom), they don’t move to the injury site as they usually would (top).Photo credit: EMBL/Peri Scientists knew already that microglia can detect ATP, but this molecule doesn’t last long outside of cells, so there were doubts about how ATP alone could be a signal that carried far enough to reach microglia located far from the site of injury. The trick, as Peri and colleagues discovered, is the long-lasting glutamate-driven calcium wave that can travel the length of the brain. Thanks to this wave, the ATP signal is not just emitted by the injured cells, but is repeatedly sent out by the neurons along the way, until it reaches microglia. Dirk Sieger and Christian Moritz in Peri’s lab took advantage of the fact that zebrafish have transparent heads, which allow scientists to peer down a microscope straight into the fish’s brain. They used a laser to injure a few of the fish’s brain cells, and watched fluorescently-labelled microglia move in on the injury. When they genetically engineered zebrafish to make neurons’ calcium levels traceable under the microscope, too, the scientists were able to confirm that when the calcium wave reached microglia, these cells immediately started moving toward the injury. Knowing all the steps in this process, and how they feed into each other, could help to design treatments to improve microglia’s detection ability, which go awry in conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Source: Sieger, D, Moritz, C., Ziegenhals, T., Prykhozhij, S. & Peri, F. Long-range Ca2+ waves transmit brain damage signals to microglia.Developmental Cell, published online 24 May 2012. Questions/comments? contact Jean Rickerson at jean@SportsConcussions.org

Starting in 2012, helmet reconditioners will no longer accept helmets 10 years or older. Leagues that have depended on reconditioning their helmets every year and cannot afford replacement gear will be most affected. Although helmets do not prevent concussions, most experts agree that newer ones are preferable to used, and an older, unreconditioned helmet might increase the risk of injury. Many leagues ask their booster clubs for assistance with fundraising as this issue has now reached a critical phase. Limited grants for replacement helmets by leading manufacturers are now available for eligible youth leagues in several areas around the country. Applications are now being accepted for youth football programs seeking to replace their league's helmets before the start of the 2012 season. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USA Football and partnering organizations have introduced a helmet replacement program for youth in underserved communities. It is estimated the program will provide almost 13,000 new helmets to athletes in low-income communities beginning in July 2012. To qualify a league must meet the following criteria: - Operate a youth football league (no middle or high school programs) - Live in one of the following areas: Cleveland, New Orleans, New York, or the San Francisco Bay area - Serve an economically disadvantaged area The application process requires registration at USA Football, the governing body for youth football under the NFL. The application is accessible only after viewing a concussion awareness video and pledging to utilize USA Football's resources to educate members of your league before the 2012 season. A visit from an official to verify the ages and number of helmets exceeding 10 years of age in your inventory will occur by mid-June, with new helmets arriving prior to the beginning of the 2012 season. Participating helmet manufacturers include Rawlings, Xenith, Riddell and Schutt. Questions/comments? contact Jean Rickerson at jean@SportsConcussions.org

Concern over longevity issues stemming from a string of injuries including back-to-back concussions, may have contributed to Chris Owusu's omission from the first seven rounds of the NFL draft this weekend. But Stanford's talented receiver, who turned in one of the fastest times in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine in February and was considered a possible top 100 prospect during his senior year, was signed by the San Francisco 49ers shortly after the draft concluded on Saturday. Owusu, one of Andrew Luck's go-to receivers missed the end of his senior season including two Bowl games after suffering two concussions in three weeks, his third in a little more than a year. Admitting to frustration because his symptoms cleared rapidly after each injury, he was not authorized by Cardinal physicians to return. Considered a third-round talent, Sports Illustrated's Jim Trotter spoke to several general managers about Owusu. "He's off our board," says one general manager. "He was from the start. It wouldn't matter if he was RG3, he'd still be off our board. With that kind of history it's not worth the risk of him being seriously injured, especially with all the attention you're going to receive. If you draft him you're going to be under the microscope the whole time. Every time he gets hit it's going to be magnified tenfold." For the 49ers, Owusu was too good to pass up. "Chris wasn't wiped off our board," 49ers general manager Trent Baalke said Saturday when he met the media at the conclusion of the draft. "You've got to remember, he was cleared to play by the same group of doctors that work with us on a regular basis. He certainly was not off our board," according to NBC SportsGroup. Owusu was taking part in a Stanford School of Medicine research project when he suffered at least one of his concussions. Researchers recorded impact data from players wearing high-tech mouthguards in an effort to gain a better understanding of the forces that cause the injury. Source: Read more: https://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/jim_trotter/04/25/draft.concussions/index.html#ixzz1tSyGvhE8 Questions/comments? contact Jean Rickerson at Jean@SportsConcussions.org Photo: (c) Maveric2003@creativecommons

The Dynavision D2 ™ is an FDA cleared medical device with a long history concerning sports performance enhancement and an even longer history concerning neuro visual rehabilitation of stroke and brain injured patients. Physical medicine rehabilitation practitioners have used it to train brain injured patients to improve hand eye coordination since the 1980s. With a pedigree from the neuroscience community concerning rehab and from the sports community for improving performance it was a logical fit that the D2 ™ be applied to the management of the athlete with a concussion. The Dynavision D2 ™ is a light board with 64 lights mounted in a board along with a small screen. The primary task is to hit the red or green lights. It assesses speed and coordination. When the computer screen and lights are used together there are numerous tasks the athlete can be asked to do. Several universities and professional sports organizations have adopted the Dynavision D2 ™ as part of the concussion management program, and for good reason. The Dynavision D2 ™ can be used as part of baseline testing. The results of the baseline tests are used for comparisons should a concussion occur. These same athletes may also train their eye hand coordination using the Dynavision D2 ™ for performance enhancement. This means the device is familiar to them and true baseline and performance parameters can be obtained. After a concussion, the Dynavision D2 ™ can be used as part of a traditional neuro cognitive examination and monitoring program. The baseline Dynavision D2 ™ results can be compared to repeat tests to see if deficits are present. Further, programs designed to assess multiple brain cognitive parameters can be performed in just a few minutes. The three tests assess: eye-hand coordination while multi-tasking, memory and cognition, cognition and executive functions. Observing the subject and noting their scores allows for an assessment of their concussion status. One of the strengths of the Dynavision D2 ™ is that it has an established cadre of programs that anyone can use. These programs can be used for rehab, prehab and diagnostics. Plus it has a relatively intuitive program option that allows more experienced practitioners and ADT trained individuals to design their own programs to meet their needs. This means that the Dynavision is a highly flexible and adaptable platform. Every person who works with athletes, injured athletes and neuro patients knows that each person is different and unique; training and rehab methods need to be personalized. Fortunately the Dynavision allows us to customize the programs to address the needs of the patient. There are numerous anecdotes where a patient who expresses a deficit that he/she is having to a rehab person who can write and try a program to help that patient during that very rehab session. One of my patients at the concussion clinic in theUniversityofCincinnatiwas injured in a wind storm. During her baseline neuro exam, we utilized the tests mentioned above and additional tests based on her specific results. The D2 was able to demonstrate the patient was unable to multi-task, making numerous math errors on simple 1 digit additions. In addition, based on a general neuro exam, the patient exhibited deficiencies in ocular motor, memory and executive function. This patient specifically benefited from the D2 as part of her neuro exam because the D2 gave measurable, unbiased results. The results of the exam were utilized to incorporate D2 training into her rehab program to improve binocularity, reaction time, multi-tasking, and cognition skills. In my opinion, without using the D2, this patient’s rehab would not have been as successful and it could have been possible to overlook subtle deficiencies that D2’s measurable results are able to track. In the center of the Dynavision D2 ™ is a tachistoscope; or small computer screen. This screen is used in several of the evaluation and rehabilitation methods. It adds tremendous flexibility to the system because it can be used to add tasks to what the subject is required to do. With the tachistoscope the patient can now be required to do a hand-eye task as well as reading or other task from the screen. This allows for multitasking to be performed and adds to the flexibility and strength of the Dynavision D2 ™ as a tool to manage the concussion patient. Repeating the evaluations on the Dynavision D2 ™ can be used as part of quantitative monitoring of the subjects as they progress through concussion rehab. The Dynavision produces reliable numbers that reflect the subjects’ performance or highlights deficiencies. When the Dynavision D2 ™ is used as part of the rehab training it becomes a cornerstone in the patient’s care and the patient can see, based on their own results, how well they are doing. Rehabilitation methods can be tailored to the needs of the patient and with many years of experience from the stroke and brain injury literature there are numerous options for the Dynavision D2 ™ to aid in a concussion rehabilitation program. About the Authors: Dr. Clark is a certified athletic trainer, professor of neurology and member of the concussion management team in the University of Cincinnati. He is an expert in complications post acquired brain injury and has published several texts and over 100 scientific articles. Mrs. Umberg is a former concussion patient and the patient referred to in this Case Study. Having used Dynavision as part of her rehab program she has since become a patient advocate and team member in the concussion management team in the University of Cincinnati and Dynavision Trainer. Disclaimer; the statements made are not screened or approved by the FDA. Source: Joseph F. Clark and Jennifer A. Umberg Department of Neurology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Ohio; 45267-0536. Corresponding author: Joseph F. Clark, Professor of Neurology, joseph.clark@uc.edu.

Bronx, NY — Patients vary widely in their response to concussion, but scientists haven’t understood why. Now, using a new technique for analyzing data from brain imaging studies, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University andMontefiore Medical Center have found that concussion victims have unique spatial patterns of brain abnormalities that change over time. The new technique could eventually help in assessing concussion patients, predicting which head injuries are likely to have long-lasting neurological consequences, and evaluating the effectiveness of treatments, according to lead author Michael L. Lipton, M.D., Ph.D., associate director of the Gruss Magnetic Resonance Research Center at Einstein and medical director of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) services at Montefiore. The findings are published today in the online edition of Brain Imaging and Behavior. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than one million Americans sustain a concussion (also known as mild traumatic brain injury, or mTBI) each year. Concussions in adults result mainly from motor vehicle accidents or falls. At least 300,000 adults and children are affected by sports-related concussions each year. While most people recover from concussions with no lasting ill effects, as many as 30 percent suffer permanent impairment – undergoing a personality change or being unable to plan an event. A 2003 federal study called concussions “a serious public health problem” that costs the U.S. an estimated $80 billion a year. Previous imaging studies found differences between the brains of people who have suffered concussions and normal individuals. But those studies couldn’t assess whether concussion victims differ from one another. “In fact, most researchers have assumed that all people with concussions have abnormalities in the same brain regions,” said Dr. Lipton, who is also associate professor of radiology, ofpsychiatry and behavioral sciences, and in the Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience at Einstein. “But that doesn’t make sense, since it is more likely that different areas would be affected in each person because of differences in anatomy, vulnerability to injury and mechanism of injury.” In the current study, the Einstein researchers used a recently developed MRI technique called diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) on 34 consecutive patients (19 women and 15 men aged 19 to 64) diagnosed with mTBI at Montefiore in the Bronx and on 30 healthy controls. The patients were imaged within two weeks of injury and again three and six months afterward. The imaging data were then analyzed using a new software tool called Enhanced Z-score Microstructural Assessment Pathology (EZ-MAP), which allows researchers for the first time to examine microstructural abnormalities across the entire brain of individual patients. EZ-MAP was developed by Dr. Lipton and his colleagues at Einstein. DTI detects subtle damage to the brain by measuring the direction of diffusion of water in white matter. The same technology was used by Dr. Lipton and his team in widely publicized research on more than 30 amateur soccer players who had all played the sport since childhood. They found that frequent headers showed brain injury similar to that seen in patients with concussion. The uniformity of diffusion direction – an indicator of whether tissue has maintained its microstructural integrity – is measured on a zero-to-one scale called fractional anisotropy (FA). In the latest study, areas of abnormally low FA (reflecting abnormal brain regions) were observed in concussion patients but not in controls. Each concussion patient had a unique spatial pattern of low FA that evolved over the study period. Surprisingly, each patient also had a unique, evolving pattern of abnormally high FA distinct from the areas of low FA. “We found widespread high FA at every time point, all the way out to six months and even in patients more than one year out from their injury.” said Dr. Lipton. “We suspect that high FA represents a response to the injury. In other words, the brain may be trying to compensate for the injury by developing and enhancing other neural connections. This is a new and unexpected finding.” At present, diagnosis of concussions is based mainly on the nature of the patient’s accident and the presence of symptoms including headache, dizziness and behavioral abnormalities. DTI, combined with EZ-MAP analysis, might offer a more objective tool for diagnosing concussion injuries and for predicting which patients will have persistent and progressive symptoms. The paper is titled “Robust Detection of Traumatic Axonal Injury in Individual Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Patients: Intersubject Variation, Change Over Time and Bidirectional Changes in Anisotropy.” Contributors include Namhee Kim, Ph.D.; Tova M. Gardin, B.A.; Keivan Shifteh, M.D.; Mimi Kim, Sc.D.; Molly E. Zimmerman, Ph.D.; Richard B. Lipton, M.D.; and Craig A. Branch, Ph.D., all of Einstein and Montefiore; and Young Park, M.D., who earned his degree from Einstein; and Miriam Hulkower, a medical student at Einstein. Source: Novel Brain Imaging Technique Explains Why Concussions Affect People Differently Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University -- Newswise; June 9, 2012 Questions/comments? contact Jean Rickerson at jean@SportsConcussions.org

Researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, found that of the 14,635 high-school sports injuries reported during the 2008-2010 school year, 13% were concussions. The majority of them were uncomplicated, in fact, 40% of the students who suffered concussions saw their symptoms disappear within three days. Most returned to play within three weeks, but a significant number -- about 25% -- returned to play the same day they were injured, a situation many state concussion laws are designed to address. "This improper practice was widespread," noted researchers Mallika Marar, Natalie McIlvain, Sarah Fields and R. Dawn Comstock, who found it in 12 of the 20 sports they studied. "This clearly violates the consensus statement on sports-related concussion, which recommends that no adolescent athlete who sustains a concussion should return to play on the day of the injury,"reported WPTV.com. Other findings included: Most common symptoms: headache (94.2%), dizziness (75.6%) and difficulty concentrating (54.8%) More than one: Eleven percent had suffered concussions before, highest rate of recurrence was boys' wrestling (20%) Most by number: football (47%) followed by girls' soccer (8.2%) Most common practices/games: games; exception was cheerleading, participants were 10x more likely to be hurt during practice Most by gender: boys; although concussions in girls' sports represented a higher number of overall injuries Most common occurrence: athlete-to-athlete contact; girls were more likely to suffer a concussion from striking the ground or being struck by another players' piece of equipment such as a hockey stick The study was published in the January edition of the American Journal of Sports Medicine. Source: Study: High school athletes return from concussion too soon -- WPTV.com Questions/comments? Contact Jean Rickerson at Jean@SportsConcussions.org