The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center’s www.utsouthwestern.edu “Texas Institute for Brain Injury and Repair” (TIBIR) www.utsouthwestern.edu/research/brain-injury has just launched one of the nation’s first concussion registries to help student athletes and others receive improved treatment for concussions. An estimated 3.8 million recreational and athletic concussions occur in the U.S each year according to CDC www.cdc.gov.
TBIR is a state-funded initiative to promote innovative research and education in TBI with the hope to accelerate translation into better diagnosis and to revolutionize care for millions of people who suffer concussions and other types of brain injuries each year.
The registry called CON-TEX is designed to capture comprehensive longitudinal data on individuals age five and older who have suffered sports-related concussions or other forms of mild Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).
CON-TEX is going to collaborate with professionals in neuropsychology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, neurology and neuro-therapeutics, neurological surgery, pediatrics, psychiatry, and sports medicine. UT Southwestern, Children’s Medical Center in Dallas, Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, plus Texas Health Resources Ben Hogan Sports Medicine will be involved.
The study’s multidisciplinary approach will yield a comprehensive examination of sports and non-sports-related concussions and help analyze current recovery patterns and management strategies. Initially the study aims to enroll 300 to 500 participants through 2016 who are patients at the participating institutions.
“There is so much we don’t know in the area of concussion,” reports Dr. Munro Cullum, Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology, and Neuro-therapeutics at UT Southwestern and Principal Investigator for the study.
He continues to say, “We will study the natural history of concussions, obtain information on how and where they take place, and then conduct rigorous clinical research designed to improve the treatment of this common injury.”
Participants in the study will be questioned about their concussion history, family medical background, neurocognitive test results, and before and after recovery experience related to school, work and/or competition.
Three months after their initial review, the participants and their health status will be reevaluated and will have the opportunity to enroll in future clinical trials that will test innovative therapies and diagnostic approaches.
The initial phase of the CON-TEX study is funded by TBIR plus a grant from the David M. Crowley Foundation www.philanthropysouthwest.org.