Super Bowl Reignites Concussion Worries Warns Joel Singer MD

As we head towards the Super Bowl in February, the issue of concussion comes to the forefront once again. Joel Singer MD, of Park Avenue Stem Cells announced that he has started treating players with human stem cell therapy and warns that we have not yet seen a peak in concussion related injuries to NFL players.

On January 21, 2018, New England Patriot tight end, Rob Gronkowski, was hit helmet-to-helmet during the AFC title game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Gronkowski was placed on concussion protocol and is not expected to attend the opening night of the Super Bowl. He has to be cleared by an independent neurologist if he is to play against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Concussion film creates public awareness

In 2015 the film Concussion drew public attention to the subject of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) or brain degeneration suffered by professional football players. Will Smith played the part of Dr. Bennet Omalu, a forensic pathologist who battles the NFL to share his findings.

The film appeared ten years after Dr. Omalu outlined his findings about chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) or degenerative brain disease in a scientific paper. His findings came from examining the brain of a former Pittsburgh Steeler, Mike Webster. The NFL wanted the article to be retracted but instead, Omalu published another paper about former Pittsburgh Steeler, Terry Long.

NFL acknowledges link

It was only in 2016 that the NFL publicly acknowledged the connection between football and degenerative brain disease. It has taken steps to improve player safety and create awareness of head injuries in football players in the wake of bad publicity.

Conflicts of interest emerge when it comes to managing the health of football players. Controversy exists over concussion research, its management, and the related return-to-play decision-making process. The discussion is made more difficult by the fact that diagnosis of concussion is not straightforward. Some athletes hide symptoms and others may not be thinking clearly enough to recognize them. Diagnosing concussion from the sideline is complicated by the fact that symptoms like headaches, confusion, and dizziness might only appear later.

The list of deceased NFL players diagnosed with CTE or ex-players who have reported symptoms continues to grow. The clinical symptoms of CTE include confusion, memory loss, impulse control issues, aggression, depression, and suicidal behavior. Answers are needed for football players and others who are exposed to head trauma.

Regenerative medicine may provide solutions

An answer for players who have already suffered damage could lie in the field of regenerative medicine. Dr. Joel Singer, a plastic surgeon, and director of Park Avenue Stem Cell is currently exploring stem cell regenerative therapy. Two ex NLF players have committed to the therapy in the hopes of dealing with degenerative brain disease.

Dr. Singer has extensive medical experience and remains at the leading edge of innovation. He believes that stem cell therapy can bring about regeneration and healing. This belief is backed up by experimental evidence and current studies being conducted are hoped to confirm this.

Joel Singer MD, writing on his blog, explains that a technological breakthrough has provided tools allowing fat-derived stem cells to be harvested from a person under local anesthesia. The harvesting procedure takes a couple of minutes and is minimally invasive. These stem cells are administered to the patient and have the potential to repair and heal.

Intravenously injected stem cells have been shown to be able to cross the “blood-brain barrier” and can be identified in the patient’s body many months later. Dr. Singer believes that more uses of stem cells are going to be found for a large variety of neurological conditions, including the concussion and traumatic brain injuries of all kinds.

Whether the changes made by the NFL to their concussion protocol will make a difference in the long-term health of players is an answer that may take years to obtain. The effect of bad publicity has created a level of fear that may be hard to address. At least players already suffering from degenerative brain disease may find some answers in stem cell regenerative therapy from Doctors like Joel Singer.