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AMA adopts new policies to study CTE, other head injuries

Citing the quarter of a million Americans who experience concussions each year, the AMA implemented new policies it hopes will increase research on head injuries, according to a press release.

The AMA said the policies passed this week cover the sequence of injuries from subconcussive impacts to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the neurogenerative disorder found in patients with repeated brain trauma. According to the AMA, CTE is hard to diagnose and detect before death.

“With hundreds of thousands of Americans — including approximately 250,000 children under age 19 — sustaining concussions each year, it is vital that we research the full continuum of head impacts,” Willarda V. Edwards, MD, and board member, American Medical Association, said in the release. “Whether the concussion occurs during youth sports like football, soccer, and basketball or during a military deployment, the insidious symptoms of CTE are occurring 8 or 10 years after the inciting event. Further research into the causes, prevention, and detection of CTE are critical, but we must begin this effort by understanding how to prevent it.”

The AMA said it hopes their action leads to the creation of diagnostic tools and comprehension of preventive measures that can protect against CTE.

Disclosures: Healio.com/Family Medicine was unable to determine relevant financial disclosures prior to publication.