Olfactory function is reduced in a subset of former elite American football players with traumatic encephalopathy syndrome.

Former American football players are at risk for developing traumatic encephalopathy syndrome (TES), the clinical disorder associated with neuropathologically diagnosed chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The objective of this study was to determine whether hyposmia is present in traumatic encephalopathy syndrome. The study included 119 former professional American football players, 60 former college football players, and 58 same-age asymptomatic unexposed men from the DIAGNOSE CTE Research Project.

Baseline Normative and Test-Retest Reliability Data for Sideline Concussion Assessment Measures in Youth.

Tools used for the identification, evaluation, and monitoring of concussion have not been sufficiently studied in youth or real-world settings. Normative and reliability data on sideline concussion assessment measures in the youth athlete population is needed. Pre-season normative data for 515 athletes (93.

Use of the concussion check protocol for concussion assessment in a female soccer team over two consecutive seasons in New Zealand.

Aim: Address deficiencies in access to sports sideline medical care by using a Concussion Check Protocol (CCP) for non-medically-trained people.

Method: A prospective observational cohort study was undertaken on a single amateur female club-based soccer team over two consecutive years in New Zealand utilising a non-medically trained support person termed a Safety officer. CCP is an extension of the King-Devick test with features such as warning signs and symptoms of concussion built into the application.

Clinical Outcomes and Tau Pathology in Retired Football Players: Associations With Diagnosed and Witnessed Sleep Apnea.

Background And Objectives: Obstructive sleep apnea (SA) is common in older men and a contributor to negative cognitive, psychiatric, and brain health outcomes. Little is known about SA in those who played contact sports and are at increased risk of neurodegenerative disease(s) and other neuropathologies associated with repetitive head impacts (RHI). In this study, we investigated the frequency of diagnosed and witnessed SA and its contribution to clinical symptoms and tau pathology using PET imaging among male former college and former professional American football players.

Association of Vascular Risk Factors and CSF and Imaging Biomarkers With White Matter Hyperintensities in Former American Football Players.

Background And Objectives: Recent data link exposure to repetitive head impacts (RHIs) from American football with increased white matter hyperintensity (WMH) burden. WMH might have unique characteristics in the context of RHI beyond vascular risk and normal aging processes. We evaluated biological correlates of WMH in former American football players, including markers of amyloid, tau, inflammation, axonal injury, neurodegeneration, and vascular health.

The American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine Diagnostic Criteria for Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

Objective: To develop new diagnostic criteria for mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) that are appropriate for use across the lifespan and in sports, civilian trauma, and military settings.

Design: Rapid evidence reviews on 12 clinical questions and Delphi method for expert consensus.

Participants: The Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Task Force of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine Brain Injury Special Interest Group convened a Working Group of 17 members and an external interdisciplinary expert panel of 32 clinician-scientists.

Neuropsychological test performance of former American football players.

Background: Patterns of cognitive impairment in former American football players are uncertain because objective neuropsychological data are lacking. This study characterized the neuropsychological test performance of former college and professional football players.

Methods: One hundred seventy male former football players (n=111 professional, n=59 college; 45-74 years) completed a neuropsychological test battery.

White matter hyperintensities in former American football players.

Introduction: The presentation, risk factors, and etiologies of white matter hyperintensities (WMH) in people exposed to repetitive head impacts are unknown. We examined the burden and distribution of WMH, and their association with years of play, age of first exposure, and clinical function in former American football players.

Methods: A total of 149 former football players and 53 asymptomatic unexposed participants (all men, 45-74 years) completed fluid-attenuated inversion recovery magnetic resonance imaging, neuropsychological testing, and self-report neuropsychiatric measures.

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Consensus Diagnostic Criteria for Traumatic Encephalopathy Syndrome.

Objective: To develop evidence-informed, expert consensus research diagnostic criteria for traumatic encephalopathy syndrome (TES), the clinical disorder associated with neuropathologically diagnosed chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

Methods: A panel of 20 expert clinician-scientists in neurology, neuropsychology, psychiatry, neurosurgery, and physical medicine and rehabilitation, from 11 academic institutions, participated in a modified Delphi procedure to achieve consensus, initiated at the First National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Consensus Workshop to Define the Diagnostic Criteria for TES April, 2019. Before consensus, panelists reviewed evidence from all published cases of CTE with neuropathologic confirmation, and they examined the predictive validity data on clinical features in relation to CTE pathology from a large clinicopathologic study (n = 298).

Proceedings From the Ice Hockey Summit III: Action on Concussion.

Objectives: The Ice Hockey Summit III provided updated scientific evidence on concussions in hockey to inform these 5 objectives: (1) describe sport related concussion (SRC) epidemiology; (2) classify prevention strategies; (3) define objective, diagnostic tests; (4) identify treatment; and (5) integrate science and clinical care into prioritized action plans and policy.

Methods: Our action plan evolved from 40 scientific presentations. The 155 attendees (physicians, athletic trainers, physical therapists, nurses, neuropsychologists, scientists, engineers, coaches, and officials) voted to prioritize these action items in the final Summit session.

Evidence-Based Cognitive Rehabilitation: Systematic Review of the Literature From 2009 Through 2014.

Objectives: To conduct an updated, systematic review of the clinical literature, classify studies based on the strength of research design, and derive consensual, evidence-based clinical recommendations for cognitive rehabilitation of people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) or stroke.

Data Sources: Online PubMed and print journal searches identified citations for 250 articles published from 2009 through 2014.

Study Selection: Selected for inclusion were 186 articles after initial screening.

Proceedings from the Ice Hockey Summit III: Action on Concussion.

The Ice Hockey Summit III provided updated scientific evidence on concussions in hockey to inform these five objectives: 1) describe sport-related concussion (SRC) epidemiology, 2) classify prevention strategies, 3) define objective, diagnostic tests, 4) identify treatment, and 5) integrate science and clinical care into prioritized action plans and policy. Our action plan evolved from 40 scientific presentations. The 155 attendees (physicians, athletic trainers, physical therapists, nurses, neuropsychologists, scientists, engineers, coaches, and officials) voted to prioritize these action items in the final Summit session.

Behavioral Interventions to Prevent or Delay Dementia: Protocol for a Randomized Comparative Effectiveness Study.

Background: Currently, people at risk for dementia and their caregivers are confronted with confusing choices about what behavioral interventions are most effective.

Objective: The objective of this study is to determine which empirically supported behavioral interventions most impact the outcomes highly valued by patients with mild cognitive impairment and their partners.

Methods: This protocol describes a comparative effectiveness trial targeting 300 participants with mild cognitive impairment and their study partners.

Predicting attenuation of solar radiation (UV-B, UV-A and PAR) in waste stabilization ponds under Sahelian climatic conditions.

Because of its importance in pathogen removal and algal productivity in waste stabilization ponds, sunlight penetration was measured in microcosms and in situ under Sahelian climatic conditions. The different wavelengths were detected using a submersible radiometer equipped with three sensors: UV-B (311 nm), UV-A (369 nm) and photosynthetically available radiation (PAR, 400-700 nm). UV-B was more attenuated than UV-A and PAR.

Cognition in epilepsy patients with hypothalamic hamartomas.

Many patients with epilepsy caused by hypothalamic hamartomas (HHs) have cognitive impairments during the course of the disease or following neurosurgical treatment. The purpose of this study was to assess cognitive function in these patients, as well as factors influencing preoperative cognitive performance and cognitive outcome after neurosurgical treatment. Using the two largest and most detailed neuropsychology datasets on HH and epilepsy from two centers, we retrospectively report on cognitive functions in 48 patients with structural epilepsy due to HH (mean age ± standard deviation [SD] 20 ± 12 years, range 5-53 years, median 16 years; disease duration mean 17 ± 11 years).

The Effect of In-School Saccadic Training on Reading Fluency and Comprehension in First and Second Grade Students.

Efficient eye movements provide a physical foundation for proficient reading skills. We investigated the effect of in-school saccadic training on reading performance. In this cross-over design, study participants (n = 327, 165 males; mean age [SD]: 7 y 6 mo [1y 1 mo]) were randomized into treatment and control groups, who then underwent eighteen 20-minute training sessions over 5 weeks using King-Devick Reading Acceleration Program Software.

Cognitive functioning before and after surgical resection for hypothalamic hamartoma and epilepsy.

Objective: To determine whether patients with hypothalamic hamartoma (HH) improve in their cognitive functioning after neurosurgical resection of their HH and explore what variables correlate with cognitive outcome.

Methods: Thirty-two patients underwent preoperative and postoperative neuropsychological testing. The age range of patients was between 3.

Decreased quality of life in children with hypothalamic hamartoma and treatment-resistant epilepsy.

We evaluated health-related quality of life in patients with hypothalamic hamartoma, to see how it differs from that of children with more common neurologic disorders. We used the PedsQL 4.0, along with the Child Behavior Checklist, Hague Seizure Severity Scale, and Side Effects Scale, to evaluate presurgical patients with hypothalamic hamartoma and epilepsy (n = 21).