Sports Medicine News

PHILADELPHIA — As the number of companies claiming to have created a device that assesses or diagnoses head injury increases, it is important to remember that the FDA has only granted 510(k) clearance to 14 such devices, a presenter at the American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting said.

On April 16, the FDA issued 11 warning letters to as many companies for alleged violations of federal law regarding some of their ingredients, the agency said in a statement.

Living former NFL players with at least one concussion or traumatic brain injury had higher levels of the protein marker tau, commonly associated with an increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease, in the parts of the brain that are impacted by chronic traumatic encephalopathy vs. persons who did not experience a head injury, according to findings recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

The most recent CDC data show an estimated 329,290 children were treated in United States for sports and recreation-related injuries that included a diagnosis of concussion or traumatic brain injury.

Pediatric sports- and recreation-related traumatic brain injuries, or SRR-TBIs, cause more than 280,000 visits to EDs throughout the United States, according to researchers from the CDC. Nearly half of these SRR-TBIs are caused by contact sports.

Posttraumatic headaches improved for 80% of patients who took amantadine for 2 months after having postconcussion syndrome, according to a study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

Teens who incorporated light aerobic activity into their concussion treatment plans recovered more quickly than those who did not exercise, according to results of a randomized clinical trial published in JAMA Pediatrics.

A smartphone-supported tool allowed for “rapid and easy” recording of concussion symptom reporting behavior, according to findings recently published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Multiplayer tackle drills led to the highest frequency of head impacts, according to findings recently published in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics.

The FDA recently granted Oculogica marketing authorization for its EyeBOX concussion test, the first noninvasive, baseline-free tool to assist in diagnosing concussions, according to a company press release.