I worry about those boys. They have a lot of years to live after footy and personally I hope they both retire before any real damage is done.
I worry about those boys. They have a lot of years to live after footy and personally I hope they both retire before any real damage is done.
Hard to argue, especially Paddy...too brave for their own good. I wonder about the future of high speed contact sports.Originally Posted by aardvark
With the number of lawsuits being raised Blood Fever, I think you are right to worry.
Loose translation from the Latin is - I am tall, so I hit out.
I was at the melbourne game this year and Paddy got bumped and he stayed down for a bit. It was innocuous but something didn't look right and I said so to my son sitting next to me. This was the week before he was concussed. I'll refrain from making any further comments but just relating what I saw.
I wonder if the same caution would be taken with Tom if it weren’t for his brother and think some of it is just anxiety around Paddy. I don’t mean that as a criticism or that it’s misplaced but is there much understanding of why some people are more susceptible to concussion and if it’s genetic?
It’s my understanding that concussions are caused by bumps etc to the head so I don’t think it’s genetic but I stand to be corrected as I am not a medical expert.
I decided to do a bit of research, even though I find modern genetics and biochemistry mind-numbingly complicated. Generally, it seems that yes, genetics does affect recovery from concussion, but there still needs to be plenty of research done, to work out which genes are most involved.
To attempt to give a reasonably simple explanation, there are many things that can be damaged in a concussion, so the body has to synthesise a wide range of proteins to assist the healing process. Since the instructions for synthesising those proteins are contained in a person's genetic code, then mutations in particular genes can aid or hinder the healing process.
To use one example, when some axons are damaged beyond repair, it's desirable that the axons of other healthy neurons, can form additional connections with the dendrites of other neurons, in order to compensate for the damage. Neurotrophic growth factor is involved in forming those connections. So if a person has a mutation in the gene that contains the code for producing that growth factor, then that may cause a loss or gain of function. So, someone with a loss of function would probably form additional neuronal connections at a slower rate, and therefore take longer to recover from a concussion.
Anyway, I don't really have much knowledge of genetics, but for anyone who does, this paper does a run through of some of the genes that may be involved.
Sports | Free Full-Text | Genetic Factors That Could Affect Concussion Risk in Elite Rugby
For anyone that is interested, the University of Tasmania offers a free 5 week (2hr/week) online course about traumatic brain injury which might give useful insights into discussion about this topic.
Understanding TBI MOOC - Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre | University of Tasmania
https://www.utas.edu.au/wicking/understanding-tbi
For any health professionals (and anyone else) you get a certificate of completion that should count towards your CPD.
I think this is about to close (although if you registered, you could probably complete it in a day or two), but it’s offered a number of times per year.
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks