Today, we see entertainment, money, and/or temporary happiness as potential higher priorities compared to our brains. TBI’s (traumatic brain injury) like a concussion can cause detrimental molecular issues which can have short and long lasting effects on your brain and the rest of your body. I am going to write about how people are ignoring the facts of a concussion just so they can do what they want and be “successful” in their realm of work. I will first talk about how concussions can vary and you can manipulate your concussion, and secondly, I will talk about the second impact syndromes well as the effects of a concussion short and long term and how TBIs can lead to higher probably chances of issues like suicide.
As a professional athlete like Tom Brady or Canelo Alvarez, the last thing they want to do is sit out because of a concussion. For Brady, his team relies on him, he is their QB, and for Alvarez, he is practically fighting for himself but he knows if he fights he gets paid regardless and even more if he wins. These men will sometimes do whatever they need to do to make sure their involved in their sport and that may lead to providing false information on any concussion or TBI they have had. I encourage you to read up on one football players perspective on concussions found here. People today impact themselves in so many ways and the way these two men do it is through physical contact to their bodies and most importantly their brain. These men may make a lot more than the average guy, but they simple are doing their job. Their career, and unfortunately their physical degradation gives us entertainment all throughout the week on television. These men most likely also get joy and happiness through their sports, but they are missing huge key facts that concussions can cause short and long term issues as well as what happens when you don’t properly heal from a previous concussion.
Concussions commonly lead to rapid onset of short-lived impairment of neurological function that resolves spontaneously. At the molecular level hours after the concussion/TBI, hypometabolism occurs via decreased amounts of ATP, NADH/NAD, and N-acetylaspartate and this can occur up to months after a moderate or severe TBI. This gives evidence along with a high calcium influx that sets the stage for another severe brain injury after a repeated concussion—described clinically as second impact syndrome. In a general sense, symptoms and signs may evolve over several minutes to hours. Some short-term issues involved include: headache, foggy feeling, behavioral and emotional symptoms, slowed reaction times and insomnia.
According to Concussion Foundation, 87 of the 91 former NFL brains that were in a study had a progressive neurodegenerative disease called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. This disease has symptoms of memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, paranoia, and much more. The tau protein in the brain gets misfolded and causes build ups throughout the brain which cause neurons to die slowly. Another major issue found from concussions is their link to suicide. According to Canadian Medical Association Journal, someone who encounters just a mild concussion is three times more likely to commit suicide than someone who hasn’t had a concussion. Regardless of short or long term issues, concussions aren’t going anywhere soon and we as society need to be more informed on what they can do to your health over a lifetime.