Study looks at pediatric firearm-related eye injuries in the U.S.

(HealthDay)—A quarter of all U.S. ocular firearm injuries occur within the pediatric population, according to a study published online Oct. 10 in JAMA Ophthalmology. Rebecca Weiss, M.D., of the Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, New York, and colleagues used data collected from the National Trauma Data Bank to analyze firearm-related ocular injuries (1,972 injuries) for pediatric patients (younger than 21 […]

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New study tracks perils of water polo head injuries

Water polo athletes take note: A new study by University of California, Irvine researchers maps out the frequency of head injuries in the sport and reveals which positions are the most vulnerable. The first-of-its-kind report, which tracked several dozen male collegiate water polo players over three seasons, was published today in PLOS One, a peer-reviewed, open-access scientific journal. “For years, […]

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ICU patients with non-brain-related injuries may suffer undetected cognitive dysfunction

A new study led by Western University and Lawson Health Research Institute has found that most patients entering hospital intensive care units (ICU) for non-brain-related injuries or ailments also suffer from some level of related cognitive dysfunction that currently goes undetected in most cases. The findings were published today in the influential scientific journal, PLOS ONE. Many patients spend time […]

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New study finds evidence of brain injuries in football players at surprisingly young age

There have been more and more cases confirming that repeated hits to the head have lifelong consequences for professional football players, but a new study by Orlando Health in collaboration with the Concussion Neuroimaging Consortium finds evidence of lasting effects from head injuries at a much younger age than expected. The study tested biomarkers in the blood called microRNA’s and […]

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When kids focus on one sport, overuse injuries rise

(HealthDay)—Young athletes specializing in one sport may hope it’s a ticket to an athletic scholarship in college, but a new analysis suggests the practice might also doom them to overuse injuries. Pulling data from five prior studies, scientists found that athletes aged 18 and younger who concentrated on a single sport were nearly two times more likely to sustain an […]

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New diagnostic blood test helps rule out need for CT scans in some patients with possible traumatic brain injuries

Research conducted at the Wayne State University School of Medicine has helped confirm the effectiveness of a blood biomarker that can indicate if patients with a head injury can avoid a costly CT scan because the blood test results indicate no traumatic brain injury (TBI). The findings, published online in The Lancet Neurology on July 24, validated the use of […]

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‘Antifreeze’ molecules may stop and reverse damage from brain injuries

The key to better treatments for brain injuries and disease may lie in the molecules charged with preventing the clumping of specific proteins associated with cognitive decline and other neurological problems, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania report in a new study published in Neurobiology of Disease. Concentrations of these brain molecules—called N-acetylaspartate (NAA) […]

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Possible new treatment for spinal cord injuries identified in animal studies

An experimental drug has shown promise as a potential therapy for spinal cord injuries in animal studies. The compound, 4-aminopyridine-3-methanol, works in a similar way as a drug previously developed at Purdue, 4-aminopyridine (4-AP), which has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat multiple sclerosis. Dr. Riyi Shi, professor in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences, […]

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