Month: December 2016

A new registry is taking shape in Texas to track youth athletes and their rates of sports-related head injuries. Once established, the ConTex registry, a partnership between the University Interscholastic League (UIL) and the O'Donnell Brain Institute at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, will be the largest and most comprehensive of its kind in the nation. Although youth sports are a common and beneficial way for students to keep active, build character, and promote community -- some 62% of children playing team sports say they do so to interact with friends -- concerns about the lasting effects of injuries, particularly concussions, have risen in recent years. But at the same time, the available data and research on the relationship between sports and brain injuries rema...

Influenza has continually been a healthcare problem across the United States. The flu virus itself can survive on hard surfaces for up to 48 hours, which is why so many people in offices and homes are susceptible to the virus if just one person comes down with the flu. Since winter is finally here and the cold weather is going to cause problems for the next few months, many people are expecting that the flu virus will be a risk at some point. According to CBS Chicago, however, so far this winter that doesn't seem to be the case. Schools are some of the most flu-invested areas in the U.S., a 2002 National Center for Education Statistics study shows that roughly 66% of all schools had at least one unacceptable physical or structural condition related to cleanliness. Doctors ha...