Brain Injury Blog

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Researchers Report that Thymosin beta 4 Improves Neurological Function after Stroke

TB4 Found to Stimulate Oligoprogenitor Cells

ROCKVILLE, Md., Mar 05, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) - REGENERX BIOPHARMACEUTICALS, INC. (NYSE Alternext US:RGN) announced that a research team from the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, MI reported that Thymosin beta 4 (TB4), administered to rats one day after embolic stroke, improved neurological functional outcome compared to control animals. Improvement in neurological function was measured at various time intervals over a seven week period and was statistically significant.

An increase in remyelination of axons (regeneration of the nerve sheath) was observed in rats receiving TB4 compared to control animals, likely due to an increased mobilization of oligodendrocyte progenitors (stem cells surrounding axons) that differentiate into mature myelin-producing oligodendrocytes. In cell culture, TB4 treated neuronal progenitor cells isolated from normal and stroke rats demonstrated increased mRNA levels of epidermal growth factor receptor. This receptor has previously been shown to be a regulator of oligoprogenitor cell expansion and tissue regeneration in response to brain injury and further supports the role of TB4 in stem cell-mediated tissue repair.

To read the balance of this press release, click on the link below:

 http://www.marketwatch.com/story/researchers-report-that-thymosin-beta-4-improves-neurological-function-after-stroke-2010-03-05?reflink=MW_news_stmp

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In last night’s episode of Lost, “The Package,” both dart guns and a new sonic fence (which we’ve fact-checked before) made an appearance. But we were more intrigued by the fact that Sun lost her ability to speak English, which Jack blames on aphasia, a disorder that affects the language center of the brain. Popular Mechanics talks to experts to find out if knocking your head on a tree could really cause the condition.

For the first time in Lost history, Jin is more fluent in English than Sun. That’s because his wife, fleeing from not-quite-Locke in last night’s episode, “The Package,” runs into a tree, hitting her head hard enough to knock herself unconscious. When she wakes up, she’s lost her ability to speak English. “She hits her head and forgets English?” Miles asks, incredulous. “We’re supposed to buy that?” But spinal surgeon Jack Shephard has an explanation: In addition to a slight concussion, Sun probably has aphasia. “It’s a condition that’s caused by trauma and affects the language center of your brain,” Jack says. “It’s usually temporary.”

As it turns out, Miles was right to be suspicious. While it’s perfectly possible to knock yourself out and get a concussion by conking your head on a tree, it’s unlikely that this kind of injury would cause aphasia, according to Dr. Justin Sattin, an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison department of neurology. “What’s being described is aphasia,” he says. “But it’s usually not due to head trauma; it’s usually due to a stroke. That’s a much more common cause. To the extent that a head trauma would cause aphasia, it would usually be because there’s been bleeding into the brain in that region as a result of the trauma.” But you’re not likely to get that kind of brain bleeding from a closed head injury. “It’s one thing if you get shot in the head and it goes through that language part of your brain,” Sattin says. “But to just conk your head on a tree and have such a focal abnormality—meaning the language part of the brain affected and other parts spared—that’s kind of a stretch.”

Aphasia, Sattin says, is a disturbance of producing language, no matter how you’re trying to produce it—so the fact that Sun is able to write in English doesn’t jibe with reality. “Aphasia is a problem with generating language in general,” he says. “There can be some unevenness there. The written can be a little bit better than the spoken. It’s usually not cleanly divided where you just can’t talk but you can write perfectly fine. That’s not a scenario that we see.”

Still, there have been reports of people being aphasic in one language and less in another, or where people have strokes and develop new accents. “Some of this weird stuff does happen, but the way they’ve described it here is too crude,” Sattin says. “The idea that it’s perfectly fine here, completely compromised there, and it’s all due to what would otherwise be a fairly mild head injury just doesn’t hang together well. Now, if she had a penetrating head injury or a stroke, it would be a much better story.”

Of course, it could be that aphasia isn’t the cause at all. Could it be that Flocke, in his desire to divide and conquer those who might stand against him, is to blame for Sun’s sudden language loss? Most likely! We’ll have to keep watching to see if she ever gets it back.

Source: PopularMechanics.com - Erin McCarthy - March 31, 2010

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Court Orders TASER International, Inc. to Face Trial in Brain Injury Case

Judge J. Jeffrey Almquist of the Santa Cruz County Superior Court today denied TASER International, Inc.’s attempt to end a lawsuit arising from an incident that rendered a Watsonville, California, man permanently brain damaged following three shocks to the man’s chest from one of TASER’s electric control devices (”ECDs”). Trial has been set in the case for August 2, 2010.

Santa Cruz, California (PRWEB) March 20, 2010 — Judge J. Jeffrey Almquist of the Santa Cruz County Superior Court today denied TASER International, Inc.’s attempt to end a lawsuit arising from an incident that rendered a Watsonville, California, man permanently brain damaged following three shocks to the man’s chest from one of TASER’s electric control devices (”ECDs”). Trial has been set in the case for August 2, 2010.

On October 7, 2006, at approximately 4:15 p.m., plaintiff Steven Butler, a 48-year-old man with a history of mental illness, boarded a Santa Cruz Metro bus in Watsonville, California, while under the influence of alcohol. The driver told Butler to get off the bus, and he refused. The police were called. A Watsonville officer shot Butler in the chest with his TASER Model X26 ECD, and discharged it three times, subjecting Butler to 18 seconds of electrical current.

After the third discharge, Butler was limp and unresponsive. Paramedics responded quickly, determined that he was in cardiac arrest, and resuscitated his heartbeat. As a consequence of his heart stopping for as long as 18 minutes, however, Butler suffered severe brain damage and is now permanently disabled.

In his lawsuit, Butler v. TASER, International, Inc., Santa Cruz Superior Court Case No. CV 161436, Butler alleges that the electrical current from the TASER ECD captured his heart causing him to experience an abnormal heart rhythm known as ventricular fibrillation (”VF”), a highly disorganized heart rhythm which results in unconsciousness within 10 to 20 seconds, and death within minutes unless a normal rhythm is restored by an electrical shock from a defibrillator. Butler alleges that TASER misrepresented the cardiac safety of its ECDs to law enforcement agencies throughout the country, and even the world, by claiming that there was no risk associated with shots to the chest even though TASER knew such risks existed. In September 2009, TASER finally warned police officers to avoid firing at a person’s chest.

TASER filed a Motion for Summary Judgment in an attempt to end the litigation, asking the court to find, as a matter of law, that ECDs do not cause cardiac arrest, and that TASER had no duty to warn users of its products about such a risk.

In denying TASER’s Motion for Summary Judgment, Judge Almquist found the evidence sufficient for a jury to determine: 1) whether the TASER Model X26 caused Butler’s cardiac arrest, 2) whether TASER is strictly liable for failing to warn of cardiac risks associated with its ECDs, 3) whether TASER intentionally deceived police officers concerning the cardiac safety of its ECDs, 4) whether TASER negligently misrepresented the cardiac safety of ECDs, and 5) whether TASER should pay punitive damages based on fraud and malice.

Judge Almquist also found that a portion of TASER’s motion was “substantially immaterial and irrelevant to the substance of the motion and created unnecessary time and expense for the parties and the court” and was filed in “bad-faith.” He ordered TASER to pay plaintiffs’ counsel the sum of $15,000 in attorneys’ fees to compensate them for the time spent responding to TASER’s motion.

A copy of the Court’s order and hearing transcript can be obtained by contacting Peter M. Williamson, Esq. at (818) 226-5700.

Source: PRWeb 20 March 2010

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More than two years after a Rush Springs freshman football player died from a head injury during a game, a House panel Tuesday passed a bill that would prohibit high school athletes who suffer a concussion from returning to play or practice unless they receive permission from a doctor.

The House Public Safety Committee passed Senate Bill 1700 by a vote of 19-0. It now goes to the House of Representatives. The measure is “greatly needed,” Michael Catterson, director of the athletic training education program at Southwestern Oklahoma State University, said in a telephone interview.  “We’re not going to be able to prevent concussions from happening, but what we can prevent is further damage from happening,” Catterson said.

“The problem with head injuries is sometimes those symptoms aren’t always visible,” Catterson said. “If those symptoms aren’t there, there are still things that are going on neurologically and chemically within the brain where things aren’t quite right. If that brain’s not completely healed and that athlete goes out and continues to play, they’re putting themselves at risk – it’s going to take less force to cause a more severe injury. That more severe injury could result in death.”

It’s currently up to the coach on whether the athlete is well enough to return, Catterson said. SB 1700 would require someone trained in recognizing and treating concussions, such as a physician, a physician’s assistant or a nurse practitioner, to evaluate a player who suffers a head injury, said Rep. Doug Cox, House author of the measure. The player could not return to competition until being given a written release clearing the athlete to resume playing, he said.

Medical personnel trained to recognize concussions now may not be at all games or practices, especially in smaller school districts, Cox said. Cox, an emergency room physician, said a concussion is caused when a person’s head is moving rapidly and it suddenly stops, such as hitting a player or hitting the ground.

“Your brain continues to move inside until it bounces against your skull,” said Cox, R-Grove. “It’s kind of a small bruise on the brain from bumping into the side of your skull.” Justin Barney, a Rush Springs freshman, collapsed two plays after making a tackle in a freshman football game in October 2007 at Washington. He died a short time later from a broken blood vessel that bled out in his brain.

High school athletes “are fired up,” Cox said. “They want to get back in the game. “Coaches are under pressure to win, and if your star player gets knocked out in the first quarter but after halftime he is up and moving and the coach is two points behind, it’s pretty tempting to put him back in,” he said. “We just want to make sure it is safe for the athlete.”

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Ryne Dougherty, a student and football player at Montclair High School, died after a brain hemorrhage.

New Jersey needs to protect its high school athletes from head injuries. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 3.8 million concussions related to sports and recreation annually nationwide; experts believe there were 400,000 concussions in high school sports last year.

So Monday, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, the governing body of high school sports, unveiled a proposal that will require athletes who suffer a concussion to pass a battery of tests before being allowed to return to competition.

The plan also calls for the education of athletes, parents, trainers and coaches on the symptoms and dangers of concussions, and it demands immediate removal from play of any athlete who shows a symptom of a concussion. These stricter guidelines, if enacted by the NJSIAA and implemented by the schools, will guard our young athletes.

Currently, the NJSIAA allows individual schools to devise their own head-trauma policies. The results are predictable: Some are strict in their testing and more deliberate in allowing athletes to return to play. Some are not so guarded.

Three months ago, in an editorial, The Star-Ledger criticized the NJSIAA because it lacked a standardized concussion policy — more than a year after the death of Montclair football player Ryne Dougherty from head trauma, and after former Marlboro High School basketball player Niki Popyer revealed she had suffered 11 concussions in her career.

The NJSIAA, with help from athletic trainers, is on the verge of enacting the critical safeguards. See what can happen when people put their heads together?

Source: Star-Ledger Editorial Board - March 10, 2010

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The Virginia General Assembly has passed legislation that would require high school coaches and others to bench student-athletes who show signs of having suffered concussions until they are cleared for further play by a licensed health professional.

Sponsored by a state senator from Norfolk who is also a pediatric neurologist, the measure comes in response to studies that have shown high school students frequently return to play too soon after suffering concussions and that repeated concussions can have long-term health effects.

The Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, found last year that more than 40 percent of high school concussion sufferers return to the field too quickly. A recent study of retired NFL players showed that players who suffered multiple concussions developed depression and early dementia.

Players who return to play after a concussion risk second-impact syndrome, in which the brain swells, a serious condition that can lead to death. Two high school football players died in North Carolina after suffering concussions in 2008. Bill sponsor Ralph S. Northam (D-Norfolk) said he regularly sees high school students who have suffered concussions and has to persuade them not to return immediately to action.

“The common scenario is that they come to my office on a Monday or Tuesday after they’ve sustained their concussion in Friday’s game,” he said. “They’re trying to get cleared to play on the next Friday. I tell them, ‘You have many more games to play, but you only have one brain.”

Northam said his bill requires that athletes who show signs of head injury be taken immediately out of a game or practice. Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) is reviewing the bill, his spokeswoman said. Virginia is one of the first states to adopt such legislation — which passed both chambers of the legislature unanimously — but two dozen other states are considering similar measures. Senate Bill 652 also requires local education boards to write guidelines about dealing with concussions for their school divisions, student athletes and parents to review annually.

About three-fourths of young athletes who suffer concussions fully recover within three weeks, said Joel Brenner, director of the sports medicine program at Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters in Norfolk. But others need more recovery time. Besides second-impact syndrome, athletes risk post-concussion syndrome, in which they have trouble recovering from effects of their initial injury.

Common symptoms of concussions include headaches, confusion, sensitivity to light or noise, sleep disturbances and problems with memory or concentration.

Ken Tilley, executive director of the Virginia High School League, said coaches and officials will be briefed on the law during mandatory clinics before the start of their sports seasons. The league supported the legislation. “This raises the visibility and the public awareness of this problem,” he said. Northam said he hopes a law will prevent coaches, parents and students from putting players back on the field before it is medically safe.

“There can be tremendous pressure to return to play,” Northam said. “Sometimes it comes from fans or parents or coaches. . . . This will protect our student athletes, and it will protect coaches and school administrators.”

Source: Washington Post Staff Writer Rosalind S. Helderman - March 12, 2010

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Brainstorming: Canada launches landmark national study on children’s brain development

If there’s a motto for NeurodevNet, a landmark Canadian effort in researching brain development, it’s this quote from Frederick Douglass, which appears on the project’s website: “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”

NeurodevNet (www.neurodevnet.ca), which launched in december 2009, is the first Canada-wide initiative dedicated to studying children’s brain development from both basic and clinical perspectives. The initial focus is on three conditions: autism spectrum disorder (ASd), fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (fASd), and cerebral palsy (Cp). The initiative will receive $19.6 million in funding over five years from the Networks of Centres of excellence of Canada. NeurodevNet is hosted by the University of British Columbia, and involves a network of experts in clinical assessment and treatment, genetics, epigenetics, imaging, model organisms, knowledge translation, informatics, and neuroethics; along with key partners in community, industry, and government. About 75 researchers are currently involved in NeurodevNet, which the network hopes to double in four to five years.

To accelerate the understanding of the causes of neurological deficits, researchers aim to answer three critical questions. One, how do we define “normal” human brain development? Two, how do we detect abnormalities in that development? Three, how do we fix impaired brains? The goal here isn’t just to increase research in each of ASd, fASd and Cp, but to share learning of common interest, says Dr. Daniel Goldowitz, scientific director for NeurodevNet.

“There’s a huge amount of interplay between our understandings of each of these and how the brain develops,” says Dr. Goldowitz, who is senior scientist at the Centre for molecular medicine and therapeutics, and Canada research Chair in developmental Neurogenetics, University of British Columbia.

QUALITY OF LIFE ISSUE

About 75 researchers are involved in NeurodevNet, which Dr. Goldowitz hopes will double in four to five years. The ability to better understand and treat brain disorders in childhood is critical given the enormous and prolonged impact of these conditions.

Brain disorders affect all aspects of life -learning, communication, socialization, and mobility. An inability to develop normal functioning in any one of these aspects, let alone several, can significantly reduce quality of life, and have enormous implications for the individual, for families, and for socio-economic costs.

“Burden of illness” calculations commonly look at years of life lost, rather than at the broader impact -how is quality of life affected through years lived with a disability? NeurodevNet reports that while neurologic and psychiatric disorders comprise 1.4 percent of deaths, they account for a whopping 28 percent of all years of life lived with a disability.

According to Neuroscience Canada, approximately 10 million Canadians will be afflicted, at some point, by a disease, disorder or injury of the brain, spinal cord or nervous system. With the enormous prevalence, and even with all of the advances in neuroscience, there’s still much that researchers don’t know about brain disorders.

Through NeurodevNet, researchers hope to identify new genes involved in brain development and function, improve diagnosis, and create earlier and better treatments for brain disorders. Another goal is to train the next generation of researchers in paediatric brain development.

The three disorders at the heart of NeurodevNet take a huge toll. One in about 150 children has ASd, which encompasses a group of disorders that share characteristics such as impairments in socialization and communication. One U.S. study that put the costs associated with raising a child with ASd -looking at factors from special education to social services to lost employment -at $3 million, half borne by parents.

According to the Autism Society Canada, lifetime assistance costs could be cut by 50 percent with early diagnosis and treatment, and adequate family support. NeurodevNet aims to improve our understanding of ASd’s causes, create better diagnostic strategies, and pinpoint molecular pathways relevant to developing biologically-based treatments.

For CP, the incidence of development is approximately 2-2.5 per 1,000 births. Cp is extremely complex; in addition to neuromotor impairments, it often features problems like epilepsy, cognitive limitations, sensory impairments, behavioural disorders, feeding difficulties, and musculo-skeletal complications. People with Cp frequently need access to a range of specialized care, as well as educational and social support services.

Recent estimates, reports NeurodevNet, suggest that the increased cost per case of Cp is roughly $1.5 million over a lifetime. Despite advances in preventing and treating some causes, the percentage of babies who develop Cp has remained unchanged for 30 years. NeurodevNet will explore potential avenues for both preventing future cases of Cp, and better treating existing cases.

The third area of NeurodevNet’s focus is fASd. Prenatal exposure to alcohol is a major, preventable cause of behavioural and cognitive deficits in children. Yet despite much research and awareness, fASd “represents a public health problem of epidemic proportions,” says NeurodevNet.

Fetal alcohol syndrome itself appears in an estimated 1-3 births per 1,000 in North America. However, gestational alcohol exposure produces a wider range of birth defects and abnormalities than those seen in fetal alcohol syndrome alone. This larger group, referred to as fASd, could occur as frequently as one in every 100 births. The estimated lifetime costs -$1-3 million per child.

With FASD, the impact of gestational alcohol exposure often goes undetected until the child reaches an age when normal functions should be maturing. The potential affects vary greatly, from mild-to-moderate brain dys func t i o n s (e. g. memory, social communication, attention span, motor and sensory), to childhood depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions. The combination can lead to severe adaptation problems at home, school or work, and in society.

The NeurodevNet researchers will explore a few fundamental questions. How do genetic and environmental factors interact with gestational alcohol exposure to produce common deficits in children (neurobehavioural and neurobiological)? And how to best to develop diagnosis and treatments for affected children?

Can NeurodevNet help to “build strong children” so we have fewer broken adults to repair? Considering the long-term consequences of brain disorders, doing so would have an enormous impact not only on children who suffer from these disorders, and their families, but on all of Canadian society.

“Nothing is more heart wrenching,” says Dr. Goldowitz, “than a brain disability that limits a child’s participation in society. That’s the difference we want to make.”

Source: National Post Friday, March 26, 2010

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It’s a humble vegetable, but within it lays a resource that is helping save lives and may revolutionise the treatment of brain injury. The yam naturally produces progesterone a hormone also produced in the female body.

Research on progesterone has found it is highly effective in improving the survival rate among victims of serious brain injury caused by external damage, and improving the brain functioning of sufferers.

Dr Donald Stein, a neuroscientist from the United States’ Emory University School of Medicine, is visiting Canterbury University for six weeks and discussing the progesterone research he has led. It is being tested in advanced trials involving thousands of people around the world. The 71-year-old is hopeful that within his lifetime progesterone will be a standard method of treating brain injury.

“Progesterone has been around for a long time. It’s been known. It’s just that it’s been too good to be true,” Dr Stein said. %3Cbody%3E%3Cdiv%20id%3D%22adDiv%22%3E%3Ca%20href%3D%22http%3A//ads.apn.co.nz/accipiter/adclick/CID%3Dfffffffcfffffffcfffffffc/aamsz%3D440X400/POS%3DPOS2/acc_random%3D88356350120/pageid%3D67015584655/site%3DNZH/area%3DSEC.HEALTH.STY/keyword%3Dhumble%20yam%20weapon%20treatment%20brain%20injuries%20national%20pharmaceuticals%20medicine%20scienceuniversity%20canterbury%20vegetable%20lies%20resource%20helping%20lives%20revolutionise%20injury%20naturally%20produces%20progesterone%20hormone%20produced%20female%20body%20research%20highly%22%20target%3D_top%3E%3Cimg%20src%3D%22http%3A//apn-images.adbureau.net/apn/accipiter/images/AE0.gif%22%20alt%3D%22%22%20border%3D0%20%3E%3C/a%3E%3C/div%3E

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“I don’t think this is something that necessarily has to take another 25 years to get out. Because if this works, its dirt cheap, it’s easy to administer, it’s safe to give, it doesn’t require any high technology.”

Dr Stein began his work by following up anecdotal reports that women, who produce different levels of progesterone depending on their menstrual cycles, had better recovery from brain injury than men. “So we just hammered away at it until we figured out what was going on.”

In progesterone trials so far, the effect on 269 patients has been analysed, 73 per cent of whom were rated as “severely brain injured”. The expected death rate was reduced by almost 60 per cent, and brain functioning for those after 30 days survival had improved more than 50 per cent compared to standard care, Dr Stein said. No negative effects had been detected in patients.

“It’s hard to say that every single patient will show the same 100 per cent improvement. But I think what you can expect is hopefully more independence, better ability to function - perhaps to return to work, perhaps to be able to have a normal family life, to be able to go back to school.”

Dr Stein said the progesterone used in the trials was being extracted from certain types of yam. “It is amazing when you stop and think about it. That something as ugly as a yam [could be so valuable].” The next target of progesterone treatment is on the effects of a stroke

Source: New Zealand Herald – Jarrod Booker – March 17, 2010

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California - GUNNAR SANDBERG remains in a medically induced coma after being struck on the head by a baseball last week at Marin Catholic. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family. We join his family and all his friends, teammates, coaches and fans in hoping the 16-year-old pitcher makes a full recovery.

We also hope this tragedy results in local athletic leaders taking swift action to ban metal and other non-wood bats in high school sports. Gunnar was pitching in a scrimmage on March 11 when he was hit in the head. He had no time to react to the line drive off the metal bat.

He was conscious, but the next day swelling in his brain resulted in emergency surgery; a piece of his skull was removed to reduce pressure on his brain. Gunnar is lucky to be alive. Other high school and Little League pitchers who were struck by line drives off aluminum bats have not been so fortunate. Dozens have died over the past several decades.

The baseball that hit Gunnar was estimated to be traveling at far more than 100 mph. The distance between the pitcher’s mound and the plate is 60 feet, 6 inches, and a pitcher is several feet closer to the batter when he releases the ball. Pitchers are even closer in softball and also at risk.

Concern over the danger posed by balls hit by non-wood bats is nothing new. New York City banned non-wood bats in high school sports in 2007, following the example of North Dakota. Major League Baseball has never allowed non-wood bats.

Using only wood bats will not eliminate all such injuries in high school baseball. The game, like so many competitive sports, involves inherent risks that are impossible to completely eliminate. Wood bats also are more expensive because they don’t last as long.

To read the balance of this article, click on the link provided below:

http://www.marinij.com/opinion/ci_14707104

Source:  Marin Independent Journal - March 19, 2010

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A decision not to create a register of rugby players who have suffered head injuries could put them at risk this season, says a Northland father. New Zealand Rugby Union officials have considered setting up the register but have decided it is not a “workable option”.

It is nearly a year since Mike Sabin’s 19-year-old son, Darryl, sustained a life-threatening head injury playing in a match for Te Hapua last April 25, 2009. The teenager had previously sustained concussions playing for another club and Mr Sabin had even contemplated getting a High Court injunction to stop his son taking to the rugby pitch.

However, Daryl was tackled to the ground and eventually went into a coma and required emergency surgery. His father firmly believed a regional register back then could have prevented his son’s injury. Mr Sabin is worried players will be put at risk. He said the mandatory three-week stand-down may not be enough for some concussion injuries, and players should be required to get medical clearance before they were allowed to play again. “For some it might be enough, for others it’s like playing Russian roulette with five bullets.”

He said team sheets with players’ names were already being used and it would not be that difficult for match referees to note down any players who may have suffered a knock to the head, which then could be forwarded to the Northland Rugby Union.

The NZRU’s general manager of community and provincial amateur rugby Brent Anderson said the options presented by the Northland Rugby Union were considered in November. “The meeting consensus, given the amateur status of the game and the volunteer officials, was it wasn’t going to be workable in practice and we haven’t moved ahead with it.” He said the injuries would be monitored through the serious injury reporting system, and if any trends or issues came through the union would act.

Northland Rugby Union operations manager Greg Shipton said while there was no specific brain-injury register operating for the region, there was a serious injury register in place which would cover concussion. Mr Shipton said it was up to each team coach or game referee to make sure any incidents were reported.

Mr Shipton met with NZRU (New Zealand Rugby Union) officials last May to discuss possible rule changes which included recommendations on how repeated head injuries could be dealt with. However, he said the new rules had fallen into the “too hard basket” for the NZRU. “There’s room for this register but we can monitor it another way by serious injury reports,” Mr Shipton said. He acknowledged that under the system, some injuries would go unreported.

Source:  The Northern Advocate - March 22, 2010