Mouse study offers clues to brain’s response to concussions
Multiple head hits in succession most worrisome, evidence indicates
The brain can bounce back after a single head hit, but multiple hits in quick succession don’t give the brain time to recover, a new study suggests. Although the finding comes from mice, it may help scientists better understand the damage caused by repetitive impacts such as those sustained in football, soccer and other contact sports.
The results, published in the March issue of the American Journal of Pathology, hint that a single, mild head hit isn’t necessarily cause for alarm. “There are things to be afraid of after a concussion,” says study coauthor Mark Burns of Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C. “But not every concussion is going to cause long-term damage.”