Health
Men and women mend differently from concussions
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Aug. 4, 2008
Female soccer players and soccer players who had a previous concussion recuperate differently from males or players without a history of concussion, according to research presented July 10 at the 2008 American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine Annual Meeting in Orlando, Fla.
The study of 234 soccer players (61% female and 39% male) found that female patients given neuropsychological tests did significantly worse than males on reaction time after concussions. Females also were significantly more symptomatic than males. The study said soccer players with a concussion history performed significantly worse on verbal memory testing after another concussion.
"The results of this study suggest that physicians should not be taking a one-size-fits-all approach to treating concussions," said co-author Alexis Chiang Colvin, MD, sports medicine fellow for the Dept. of Orthopaedics at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2008/08/04/hlbf0804.htm.
