Biomarkers of brain injury following an American football game:A pilot study

The goals of this study were to determine if the biomarkers of head injury, NSE and S100B, increased in serum following an American football game. Serum creatine kinase (CK) and cortisol levels were also measured to determine muscle damage and stress caused by the football game. NSE, S100B, CK, and cortisol were measured in the serum of 17 football players before and after a collegiate junior varsity football game. No head injuries were reported by the players, athletic training staff, or coaches yet both NSE (Pre-game: 7.0 μg•L–1 ± 2.2 versus Post-game: 13.1 μg•L–1 ± 7.0, P &lt;0.001) and S100B (Pre-game: 0.013 μg•L–1 ± 0.012 versus Post-game: 0.069 μg•L–1 ± 0.036, P &lt;0.001) increased significantly. Neither CK (Pre-game: 90.5 U•L–1 ± 41.9 versus Post-game: 120.2 U•L–1 ± 62.7, P = 0.116) nor cortisol (Pre-game: 369.2 nmoles•L-1 ± 159.8 versus Post-game: 353.0 nmoles•L–1 ± 170.5, P = 0.349) increased significantly following the football game. There was little correlation found between S100B and body mass (R2 = 0.029) or CK (R2 = 0.352) levels. Although serum NSE and S100B increase as a result of playing in an American football game, the values are similar to or lower than levels found following competition in other contact and non-contact sports. Furthermore, the lack of correlation between S100B and body mass or CK indicates that S100B increases independent of body mass or muscle injury. </jats:p

Abstracts from the NIHR INVOLVE Conference 2017

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Illness Representation and Self-Care Ability in Older Adults with Chronic Disease

Chronic illness affects &gt;50% of adults in the United States and accounts for &gt;80% of healthcare spending. The purpose of this study was to determine whether beliefs about one&rsquo;s chronic disease (illness representation) are associated with self-care activation, emergency department (ED) visits, or hospitalizations. Using a cross-sectional design, we recruited older adults with heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and chronic kidney disease. The Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R) measured perceptions about disease. The Patient Activation Measure measured self-care activation. ED visits and hospitalizations were measured by self-report. IPQ-R scores were analyzed using latent profile analysis to identify subgroups. Participants included 187 adults (mean age 65 years, 54% female, 74% Black). We found three subgroups (stable, overwhelmed, and confident). Groups did not differ demographically or by disease. The stable group (few consequences, non-fluctuating pattern) had the fewest hospitalizations. The overwhelmed group (many consequences, fluctuating pattern, high negative emotion) had high hospitalizations and low self-care ability. The confident group (high disease control, well-understood) had the highest self-care ability, but also high hospitalizations. ED visits did not differ by group. We found three subgroups that differ in their illness representation and health outcomes. Findings suggest that assessing patients&rsquo; illness representations may have important implications for subgroup-specific interventions