Performing more than 20 purposeful gameplay headers in a soccer season may alter autonomic function in female youth soccer players.

This study evaluated the effects of cumulative purposeful soccer heading on autonomic nervous system function in 22 female youth soccer players (13.3 ± 0.9 years). A 10 minute electrocardiogram recording was collected at baseline and following the 20 game season (post-season) to calculate measures of heart rate variability (HRV), including standard deviation of the normal-normal intervals, total power, high frequency (HF), low frequency (LF), LF:HF, normalized HF and normalized LF. Participants were categorized into low- (<20 headers per season; n = 13) and high- (>20 headers per season; n = 9) exposure groups. Mann-Whitney U tests demonstrated no significant differences between groups for any HRV metric. However, the increased normalized LF power (low exposure 8.67 and high exposure -31.17, respectively; r = 0.35) and LF:HF power (-6.39 and 15.80, respectively; r = 0.35), between groups had moderate practical significance. Therefore, female youth players who perform more than 20 purposeful headers during a soccer season may exhibit altered autonomic function.

A review of the International Brain Research Foundation novel approach to mild traumatic brain injury presented at the International Conference on Behavioral Health and Traumatic Brain Injury.

"The International Conference on Behavioral Health and Traumatic Brain Injury" held at St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center in Paterson, NJ., from October 12 to 15, 2008, included a presentation on the novel assessment and treatment approach to mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) by Philip A. DeFina, PhD, of the International Brain Research Foundation (IBRF). Because of the urgent need to treat a large number of our troops who are diagnosed with mTBI and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the conference was held to create a report for Congress titled "Recommendations to Improve the Care of Wounded Warriors NOW. March 12, 2009." This article summarizes and adds greater detail to Dr. DeFina's presentation on the current standard and novel ways to approach assessment and treatment of mTBI and PTSD. Pilot data derived from collaborative studies through the IBRF have led to the development of clinical and research protocols utilizing currently accepted, valid, and reliable neuroimaging technologies combined in novel ways to develop "neuromarkers." These neuromarkers are being evaluated in the context of an "Integrity-Deficit Matrix" model to demonstrate their ability to improve diagnostic accuracy, guide treatment programs, and possibly predict outcomes for patients suffering from traumatic brain injury.

Improving outcomes of severe disorders of consciousness.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy of an Advanced Care Protocol (ACP) in improving rates of clinical progression and emergence in patients with Severe Disorders of Consciousness (SDOC). METHODS: Forty-one patients with SDOC were assigned to groups: Vegetative State (VS) traumatic etiology (VS-TBI), VS non-traumatic etiology (VS-NTBI), Minimally Conscious State (MCS-TBI), MCS non-traumatic etiology (MCS-NTBI). Design was a within-subjects retrospective case series measuring pre-post ACP intervention data. The ACP was administered sequentially over 12 weeks, incorporating traditional therapies (occupational, physical, speech), pharmaceuticals, median nerve stimulation, and neutraceuticals. Main Outcome Measures were: Pre- and post-treatment Disability Rating Scale (DRS), Functional Independence Measure (FIM), Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), and Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R); clinical diagnosis (VS, MCS, emerged) using criteria from the American Academy of Neurology and Mohonk Report. RESULTS: Patients significantly improved across all outcome measures, from baseline to discharge. Clinical improvement of 100% of MCS patients and 78-86% of VS patients was observed following ACP treatment. Significant differences between ACP vs. the published "standard of care" rates, in favor of the ACP, based on DRS scores and on clinical status at discharge. CONCLUSIONS: These strikingly positive results of a novel multimodal intervention are a valuable contribution to this frontier of investigation.

The new neuroscience frontier: promoting neuroplasticity and brain repair in traumatic brain injury.

Increased awareness of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the military, a persistent call for evidence-based treatment, and recent government funding have revealed new research opportunities in neuroscience. This paper describes a relatively new frontier for research: that of the facilitation or enhancement of neuroplasticity and brain repair in TBI using novel treatment protocols. Such protocols, algorithmically introduced, may be tailored to the individual through the matching of neuromarkers with specific interventions. Examples of neuromarkers and interventions employed for the purpose of neuromodulation are reported. Problems with lack of controlled studies and inferring causation in correlational research are noted. Healthy skepticism and open-minded creativity are needed so that we can think in unorthodox ways, create partnerships, harness available knowledge and expertise, and ultimately develop effective treatments.

Genetic profile of cumulative mutational damage associated with early pulmonary adenocarcinoma: bronchioloalveolar carcinoma vs. stage I invasive adenocarcinoma.

To detect the possible genetic alterations characteristic of bronchioloalveolar carcinoma (BAC) and to study molecular genetic factors responsible for determining the biologic aggressiveness of pulmonary adenocarcinoma, comparative analysis of loss of heterozygosity (LOH) on 9 chromosomal regions was performed in 14 BACs and in 20 stage I adenocarcinomas (AD). The most frequently affected chromosome regions in BAC were 8q and 17p. In stage I AD, more than 60% of the cases showed LOH of 1p, 3p, 5q, 7q, 17p, and 18q loci, and LOH of 1p, 3p, 7q, and 18q was observed with greater frequency than in BAC (P < 0.05). Fractional allele loss (FAL) was significantly greater in stage I AD than in BAC (P < 0.001). In cases with microdissection of multiple sites, intratumoral heterogeneity of LOH status was observed in 73% of BAC and 94% of stage I AD, and homogeneous distribution of LOH of 9p was unique to BAC. The high FAL value was associated with a poor prognosis of BAC, but this trend did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.098). In stage I AD, no correlation was found between LOH of particular chromosomal region or FAL and clinical outcome. LOH of 1p, 3p, 7q, and 18q was associated with invasive properties of pulmonary AD and may be useful in identifying invasive adenocarcinoma when conventional histomorphological tools are not helpful.