046 - Concussions and the Canadian Food Guide

Chris gets surprisingly aggressive (and hairy) during a football match, which leads the boys to discuss concussions. Jacob goes to a hockey game and finds a lot of people who are intimately familiar with mild traumatic brain injuries. How common are they, what’s the treatment for them, and should you let someone with a concussion fall asleep? Perhaps more importantly, would you let your kid play football (or hockey)? Also: a new iteration of the Canadian Food Guide gets rid of food groups; talcum powder strikes back; probiotics make surprising appearances in our food supply if we are to believe Canadians; and a joke few people will get. It’s Skeptics with a—wait, wrong show.

Vox pop by Jacob Meza of the So It Is Told podcast.

Jingle by Joseph Hackl.

Additional music by Seth Donnelly and Kevin MacLeod.

Theme music: "Troll of the Mountain Swing" by the Underscore Orkestra.

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References

*Studies showing that helmet use reduces injuries in sports

1. Johnston KM, McCrory P, Mohtadi NG, Meeuwisse W. Evidence-Based review of sport-related concussion: clinical science. Clin J Sport Med 2001; 11:150.

2. Sulheim S, Holme I, Ekeland A, Bahr R. Helmet use and risk of head injuries in alpine skiers and snowboarders. JAMA 2006; 295:919.

3. Russell K, Christie J, Hagel BE. The effect of helmets on the risk of head and neck injuries among skiers and snowboarders: a meta-analysis. CMAJ 2010; 182:333.

4. Hollis SJ, Stevenson MR, McIntosh AS, et al. Incidence, risk, and protective factors of mild traumatic brain injury in a cohort of Australian nonprofessional male rugby players. Am J Sports Med 2009; 37:2328.

*Study of cognitive rest in adolescents post concussion

Thomas DG, Apps JN, Hoffmann RG, et al. Benefits of strict rest after acute concussion: a randomized controlled trial. Pediatrics 2015; 135:213.

*Study about prognosis post concussion

Triebel KL, Martin RC, Novack TA, et al. Treatment consent capacity in patients with traumatic brain injury across a range of injury severity. Neurology 2012; 78:1472.

*Studies about CTE

1. Bieniek KF, Ross OA, Cormier KA, et al. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy pathology in a neurodegenerative disorders brain bank. Acta Neuropathol 2015; 130:877.

2. Mez J, Daneshvar DH, Kiernan PT, et al. Clinicopathological Evaluation of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in Players of American Football. JAMA 2017; 318:360.

*Study linking NFL and Alzheimer’s

Lehman EJ, Hein MJ, Baron SL, Gersic CM. Neurodegenerative causes of death among retired National Football League players. Neurology 2012; 79:1970.