A recent study has presented findings that a condition known as mild Traumatic Brain Injury or mTBI may, in fact, be misnamed. Doug Smith, MD, director of the Center for Brain Injury and Repair and a professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, presented the information at a recent meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

There are over one million cases of mTBI diagnosis every year in the United States, and many more abroad. By and large the current practice is to treat them accordingly with their name: minor. Mild concussions and impact injuries are observed to make sure there is no immediate consequence, and then patients are largely left to their own devices.

Doctor Smith's findings call this practice into question, however. Smith argues that mTBI is far more serious than it is usually treated, and that it needs more comprehensive analysis. "This is not inconsequential," says Smith. "Indeed, the observation that brain pathology can be detected after a concussion calls for much more extensive efforts to prevent, diagnose, and treat mild traumatic brain injury."

Smith's study focused on the period after most treatment for mTBI stops, 2-4 days after the injury. The team found two very telling pieces of evidence. First, there were distinct changes in the physical makeup of the brain, usually just two days out from impact. Secondly they also found certain protein markers in the blood that only show up as a result of brain injury or pathology. Smith and his associates have proposed further study, as well as a scientific model that can explain their findings more simply. However the implications are very clear - if mTBI has more effect than expected, the way doctors handle it is going to have to change.

One of the most misunderstood things about science is that it isn't the answer - it's the tool by which answers are found. As more information becomes available, people refine their explanations for things. AIDS was once thought to be airborne, now we know it isn't. Cancer was once thought incurable, now scientists are developing vaccines that may prevent it entirely. Science marches on, and as information changes so must our response. People who have had one or more diagnoses of mTBI may want to contact their doctors for further evaluation, or at least reassurances. Smith's report is hardly a license to panic, but now that we have new information, people have every right to take a look at their circumstances, and see what actions they warrant.

The relationship between professional football and brain injury has been heavily in the media spotlight over the past few months. The issue has even gone to Congress. This week, the Mackey-White Traumatic Brain Injury Committee held its first meeting in Palm Beach, Florida. The committee consists of professional athletes, current and past NFL players, doctors and scientists. The committee has been formed as a forum for discussion of brain injuries in professional football, the latest research linking these injuries to football, as well as safety recommendations to prevent injuries. The committee is named after athletes John Mackey who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease and Reggie White, who died at the age of 43 after his retirement from professional football.

Congressional hearings into the link between professional football and dementia and other signs of brain injury were conducted earlier this month. It was a follow up to a compete hearing conducted in October last year in Washington.  During that hearing, the NFL had received severe criticism for the manner in which it has handled the issue of brain injuries in football players.  The league has since agreed to several changes in the rules to minimize the risk of such injuries.

For California brain injury lawyers, getting the NFL to even admit that there is a high risk of brain injuries with the kind of continuous blows to the head that a professional football player receives, has been no easy task. The NFL’s Dr. Ira Casson testified before the hearing earlier this month - and continues to insist -  that there wasn’t enough evidence to determine if repeated head blows could cause long-term brain damage.  However in December last year, an NFL spokesman made a startling admission - that medical research had proved that repeated concussions can cause long-term problems.  It should hopefully, signify the beginning of better safety measures to prevent these debilitating injuries.