02 Dec Longitudinal Study of Post-Concussion Syndrome: Not Everyone Recovers

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Charles Tator, Neurosurgeon
Toronto Western Hospital and Director
Canadian Concussion Centre 

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: The main findings of this study are that the number of symptoms of post-concussion syndrome (PCS) are related to how long PCS lasts. Furthermore, physicians need to be more vigorous in their treatment of PCS symptoms and use the treatments that exist for each symptom where possible such as headache, vertigo, anxiety. The sooner sufferers of PCS receive treatment for their symptoms, the better.

MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?

Response: it is important to pay attention to the number of symptoms experienced by individuals with  post-concussion syndrome and get treatment for them as soon as possible.

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Response: We need to continue to do follow up studies on patients to get a clearer picture of who recovers from PCS and who doesn’t. For those who don’t recover, PCS is a very debilitating illness requiring medical attention and that care should come from a coordinated team of specialists overseen by a doctor trained to address concussion.

We need to conduct more longitudinal studies such as this one with large numbers of patients in order to further understand the enduring effects of PCS. Our study started with 285 potential participants but was whittled down to 110 who fit the criteria so more data is needed, we need in-depth longitudinal studies where participants are followed for many years but the challenge is that this kind of research is very expensive.

MedicalResearch.com: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Response: For more information on the research being conducted by the Canadian Concussion Centre, please visit:http://tgwhfonline.ca/braincampaign/cscp/index.html‎

MedicalResearch.com: Thank you for your contribution to the MedicalResearch.com community.

Citation:

Carmen Hiploylee, Paul A. Dufort, Hannah S. Davis, Richard A. Wennberg, Maria Carmela Tartaglia, David Mikulis, Lili-Naz Hazrati, Charles H. Tator. Longitudinal Study of Postconcussion Syndrome: Not Everyone Recovers. Journal of Neurotrauma, 2016; DOI: 10.1089/neu.2016.4677

Note: Content is Not intended as medical advice. Please consult your health care provider regarding your specific medical condition and questions.

More Medical Research Interviews on MedicalResearch.com

[wysija_form id=”5″]

Last Updated on December 2, 2016 by Marie Benz MD FAAD