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Research Will Focus on How Concussions Affect Quality of Life
Among Retired National Football League Players
Santa Monica, CA (June 17, 2008) – The John Wayne Cancer Institute at Saint John’s Health Center announced today that it has received a grant from the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment to study the possible link between head injuries and pituitary hormonal failure (hypopituitarism) among retired football players.
More than 1.2 million Americans sustain a traumatic brain injury annually, the majority of which are cerebral concussions. Repeat concussions have been shown to be a risk factor for neurodegenerative dementing disorders, including mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease. However, little is known about the impact of single or multiple concussions on the pituitary gland, which controls the body’s hormone production. Damage to the gland could lead to hypopituaturism, which can seriously impair an individual’s quality of life, including increasing the risks of depression, diabetes, obesity and sexual dysfunction.
The new research, which will be conducted in collaboration with the University of North Carolina’s (UNC) Department of Exercise and Sport Science, and the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, will be directed by Daniel F. Kelly, M.D., director of the Neuro-Endocrine Tumor Center at the John Wayne Cancer Institute, and Kevin M. Guskiewicz, PhD, chairman of the Department of Exercise and Sport Science at UNC.
Kelly and Guskiewicz will focus principally on the relationship between the number of concussions sustained in an NFL player’s career, their subsequent pituitary hormonal function, and how that function affects their post-retirement quality of life. Their goal is to determine whether there is a link between multiple concussions and hypopituitarism, to define the effect of hypopituitarism on quality of life, and to determine the impact of hormone replacement therapy. The study will be conducted with the cooperation of the National Football League Players Association.
"This research is long overdue," Dr. Kelly said. "Millions of young people and professional athletes participate in sports that put them at risk of concussion; not just football, but also hockey, rugby, soccer, baseball and basketball. We need to know more about how these so-called ‘minor head injuries’ impact their lives in later years, and in particular, whether multiple concussions can lead to pituitary hormonal failure and poor quality of life."
“The problem of sports-related concussions is increasingly recognized as a major contributor to long-term disability in many retired athletes,” said Bob Klein, vice president at Saint John’s Health Center and a ten-year NFL veteran with the Los Angeles Rams and San Diego Chargers. “However, the potential long-term impact of concussions is not well understood. This research will fill that gap in our knowledge. I have spoken with many of my former colleagues in the NFL, and they share my belief in the critical importance of this study.”
The Neuro-Endocrine Tumor Center (
www.neuro-endo.org
) is housed at Saint John’s Health Center and the John Wayne Cancer Institute in Santa Monica, California. The Center’s focus of activities is the treatment of pituitary tumors, brain tumors, and other neuro-endocrine disorders including pituitary hormonal deficiencies.
The Center for the Study of Retired Athletes at the University of North Carolina works in close affiliation with the National Football League Players Association. Since 2001, the Center has been investigating a spectrum of physical and mental disabilities common to retired athletes. The research team will begin work in July 2008, with initial research results expected in 2010.
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John Wayne Cancer Institute
Since 1981, the John Wayne name has been committed by the Wayne family to groundbreaking cancer research in memory of the much-loved actor who died of cancer. The John Wayne Cancer Institute at Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif., has received worldwide acclaim for advances in understanding the disease, focusing on melanoma (skin cancer), breast, prostate, colon, pancreatic, lung and liver cancer, as well as lymphoma and leukemia. With its unique ability to rapidly turn scientific breakthroughs into innovative approaches to treatment and early detection, JWCI provides immediate hope to cancer patients from around the globe.
Saint John’s Health Center
Since its founding in 1942 by the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, Saint John’s Health Center has been providing the patients and families of Santa Monica, West Los Angeles and ocean communities with compassionate, advanced medical care. Saint John’s provides a spectrum of treatment and diagnostic services with distinguished areas of excellence in cancer care, cardiac care, orthopedics and women’s health.
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