Defense Department Teams with NCAA on Concussion Study

The United States Department of Defense has been involved for the last year in a study, jointly conducted with the NCAA and the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) to identify measures for improving safety for military service members, as well as student athletes. According to a government spokesperson, it’s the most exhaustive study ever conducted on the connection between head impact and concussion.

The study, which kicked off in May, 2014, is expected to run for a three year period, and will look at risks, treatment, and ways of minimizing exposure to concussion. Though the test subjects will all be athletes from NCAA schools, officials say that the data collected will be used to diagnose, treat and prevent concussions among military personnel, as well as the general public.

Studies show that the most frequent cause of concussions among military personnel is proximity to explosions. A study at Washington University in St. Louis concluded that mild brain trauma caused by an explosion led to similar medical conditions as mild brain trauma from athletic contact and other sources. The study also found that nearly four out of every five patients with mild brain trauma experienced moderate to severe disability within a year.

A number of universities are already actively involved in the program:

  • Indiana University has agreed to serve as the center of administration for the study
  • The University of Michigan is leading the clinical studies
  • The medical school at the University of Wisconsin is in charge of advanced research
  • The University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) will have 27 of its football players wearing helmets with sensors in them, which will wireless transmit data from every impact

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