The optimal setting for administering these tools is a quiet setting with minimization of surrounding distractions. I put a hand to the back of my head, a little to the left, where I had landed with such jarring force. The release of electrolytes through ion channel depolarization leads to a release of neurotransmitters and subsequent neurologic dysfunction. Formerly a Contributing Editor at Esquire, her sto Gerstner, a first-rate, professional journalist with a background in reporting on sports science, and Dr.

Here she explains the scientific evidence for what happens to the brain and body after a concussion or other traumatic brain injury. A gripping medical mystery and a dazzling portrait of the young scientist no one wanted to listen to . However, other medications that may alter a patient’s cognitive function, sleep patterns, or mood are not advisable as they may mask symptoms of a concussion. Two serum biomarkers that show promise include ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase and glial fibrillary acidic protein, which appear to be elevated early in the post-injury phase. Vani Rao, MBBS, MD (SEVERN, MD), is a part-time associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Establishment of a multidisciplinary concussion program: impact of standardization on patient care and resource utilization. Chapters span the basic mechanics and pathophysiology of concussion, through its assessment, management, and complications. You are not required to obtain permission to distribute this article, provided that you credit the author and journal. Second-impact syndrome (SIS) involves a repeat blow or injury to the head before the complete resolution of the initial concussion, resulting in usually rapid, severe swelling of the brain. In the end, Concussion is an all-too-sad reminder that America is no longer a land where “people play [ ] fair.

Jeanne Marie Laskas is the New York Times best selling author of eight books, including the forthcoming TO OBAMA, a diary of the nation during the Obama years, and CONCUSSION, the basis for the 2015 Golden Globe nominated film starring Will Smith.Vaishnavi and Rao offer a clearly written primer for patients with traumatic brain injury and their caregivers. For me, this part of the book was particularly interesting because it gave me enough information to have a "layman's" understanding of what CTE is and how serious and widespread a disease it is without reading it like a paper in a scientific/medical journal. For it was the subsequent January 18, 2007 front page article in the Times that not only changed Dr. It was the repetition of blows to the head during practices and matches, commonly suffered by players in this contact sport. I know, because, when I was done reading, it was if I had just had a long, thought-provoking conversation with Kutcher and Gerstner – perhaps while sitting in the bleachers watching a high school football game on a Friday night – during which I not only learned the essentials about the identification, treatment, and management of concussions, that a concussion doesn’t have to end your child’s athletic career; but, just as importantly, that you simply can’t trust a lot of what you read or hear about head injuries on television, radio, or on Twitter.

Shaken Brain is the resource patients and their families, friends, and caregivers need to understand how concussions occur, what to expect from healthcare providers, and what the long-term consequences may be.Harmon KG, Drezner J, Gammons M, Guskiewicz K, Halstead M, Herring S, Kutcher J, Pana A, Putukian M, Roberts W. She serves as Distinguished Professor of English and Founding Director of the Center for Creativity at the University of Pittsburgh, and lives on a farm in Pennsylvania with her husband and two children. The differential diagnosis immediately after a head injury should include potentially severe injuries, including cervical spine injury, intracranial hemorrhage, or skull fracture. What the book is really about, and where it breaks new ground, in my view, is in the last 100 or so pages, which tells the story of how Dr. From 1994 until 2008 she was a regular, syndicated columnist for The Washington Post Magazine, where her "Significant Others" essays appeared weekly.