New Tests for Brain Trauma Create Hope, and Skepticism

News and articles related to Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Concussions, and Head Injuries
MSI
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New Tests for Brain Trauma Create Hope, and Skepticism

Post by MSI »

Dec 25, 2013 NY Times: New Tests for Brain Trauma Create Hope, and Skepticism
which starts:
  • Revelations in recent years that thousands of former football players might have severe brain trauma from injuries sustained on the field have set off a rush in the medical community to seize the potentially lucrative market for assessing brain damage. But experts say claims regarding the validity of these assessments are premature and perhaps unfounded.
and concludes:
  • “It’s because the issue is so prevalent in our everyday culture that we’re even talking about this,” said Dr. Alexander Powers, an assistant professor of neurosurgery, pediatrics and orthopedics at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C. “Name any other disease in which a new diagnostic test has been developed and only tested in five patients, yet it garners front-page headlines,” Powers said. “If tomorrow a new breast cancer diagnostic study was announced, we wouldn’t talk about it on a national level until it was validated through rigorous scientific review. Truthfully, from a scientific point of view, we need to do more.”
see the complete article for additional information