Article by Katie Kelley
Hockey player for the New York Rangers and former member of the Minnesota Wild, Derek Boogard, passed away in his apartment. Boogard’s parents donated his brain to the Boston University Medical School and the Sports Legacy Institute to be used for research on the ramifications of traumatic brain injuries in athletes.
Dr. Robert Stern, co-director for Boston University’s Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, confirmed that the family has donated his brain to the VA CSTE Brain Bank. The organization specializes in researching trauma on the brain and spinal cord that have been harmed by sports-related activities.
Boogaard is not the only athlete who has had his brain donated. Former Chicago Bears safety, David Duerson, requested that his brain be donated for study after his death. Before his death, Duerson had been working hard to raise awareness about brain injuries. For instance, he requested his family that they donate his brain to research before he died.
His death also raised questions about the long-term side-effects of brain injuries that are experienced during sports-related activities. Duerson died of a suicide attempt.
After studying his brain, scientists discovered moderately advanced chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). CTE is a dementia-like disease that affects athletes exposed to repeated brain trauma, and it affects areas of the brain that control judgment, inhibition, impulse control, mood, and memory. Scientists will look for evidence of CTE in Boogaard’s brain as well.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1.7 million people sustain a brain injury each year. Of those, 52,000 die and 275,000 are hospitalized. Concussions account for almost 75 percent of total traumatic brain injuries. 16.5 percent of all brain injuries are caused by situations where people strike something or are stuck against something such as what often occurs in sports. Athletes are more prone to experience a brain injury that could result in long-term effects.
Several law makers have attempted to pass congressional bills requiring tougher regulations for the safety of athletes. For example, New Jersey’s Gov. Chris Christie (R) signed a bill into law earlier this year, requiring public and private school athletic coaches to eliminate any student who shows signs of a concussion.
In addition, research into safer construction of sports helmets have been done with the desire to create new standards in the creation of helmets to give athletes more protection. Just this past year, many law makers have conducted such investigations into the safer use of popular helmets that are used in student and professional sports.
To learn more about the long-term consequences of sustaining a traumatic brain injury, visit http://brain-injury.legalview.info/ and to learn more about auto accidents, please visit http://crash.legalview.info/
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