Colleges: UNM athletes take part in concussion assessment project

If all goes as planned, a brain scan will soon become as routine for many University of New Mexico athletes as an annual physical checkup.

UNM and the nonprofit organization Mind Research Network on Wednesday announced a concussion-assessment project called Brain Safe that will regularly look inside the brains of more than 200 Lobos with magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI.

The athletes will receive MRIs at the beginning of every season and after any serious sport-related injuries. The program is already under way, with initial scans taken this fall of some football players, female volleyball players, and male and female soccer and basketball players.

The goal is to learn more about the long-term effects of brain injuries suffered by athletes in contact sports by comparing images taken over a period of time and eventually minimizing the impact of concussions.

Our top concern is the safety of our athletes, UNM athletic director Paul Krebs said. This is one more tool for our team doctors to use to make sure that when we return a student-athlete to play, we are making that decision based on the very best medical information available.

The sometimes deadly long-term effects of concussions, particularly repeat concussions, has become a major topic of conversation and concern in athletics in general and football in particular. Just last month, three former college football players filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the NCAA, among others, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The lawsuit contends the association failed to educate them about the risks of concussions and did not do enough to prevent, diagnose or treat brain injuries.

Meanwhile, in August, the NFL agreed to settle a lawsuit for $765 million, most of which would compensate former players and families of deceased players who have suffered cognitive injury, including the families of players who committed suicide after suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy. About $100 million of the settlement amount is to be used for baseline medical exams, research and education.

According to its website, the Mind Research Network is an independent organization based in Albuquerque dedicated to advancing the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness and brain injury. It is an interdisciplinary association of scientists located at universities, national laboratories and research centers around the world, and is focused on imaging technology and its emergence as an integral element of neuroscience investigation.

Dr. Kent Kiehl, a UNM psychology professor and a researcher at the MRN, said the brain scans are noninvasive. They examine brain structure; chemistry; connectivity; fibers or wiring; and function, how blood flow is moving. Together, the different sequences can provide a very comprehensive evaluation of any potential problems to an athlete, he said. By comparing images, baseline MRI scans can be precisely compared to post-injury scans.

Kiehl, the originator and director of the Brain Safe project, said the approach will give scientists a better understanding of the changes a brain undergoes after an injury.

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Colleges: UNM athletes take part in concussion assessment project