Concussions Drawing Increased Scrutiny

Former Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman didn't remember playing in the 1994 NFC championship game because of a blow to his head in the third quarter. (By Jonathan Newton -- The Washington Post)

Complicating such study, many of the doctors said, is the current sports culture that demands players get onto the field as soon as possible. Several gave anecdotal evidence of high school athletes who tried to get back into soccer games or football games or play again within days of what appeared to be severe concussions.

The doctors urged all high schools and sports teams to adopt baseline testing, which requires athletes to look at a television monitor and respond to a series of prompts. This gives a record of normal brain activity, so when a head injury occurs, the athlete can be tested again to determine how much function has been lost.

While many professional sports leagues do baseline testing, only a fraction of high schools do.

To illustrate how tricky this research can be, several doctors said injured players can fake their way through basic tests for concussions by saying they feel fine, even as their heads are pounding. Only when more extensive tests are given, forcing the patient to remember simple facts and identify objects, can the true extent of the injury be determined.

Bennet Omalu, a forensic pathologist who first made the link between brain injuries and the deaths of Waters, Long and Webster, showed pictures of each player's brain to demonstrate how normal all three of the brains appeared. Only after further examination could the telltale signs of head trauma be identified.

The brain of Webster, who had several post-football health issues, showed dementia "often seen in an 80-year-old," Omalu said.

Technology is helping in studying brain issues. Some scientists have wired the helmets of college football teams to study the force of impact on the brain.

There was a lot of discussion about designing new helmets, but many cited the problem of having something that is comfortable enough for a player to want to wear.

"People are appalled when I tell them to put a used swimsuit on their kids, but they put on their kids' heads anything that comes out of the equipment closet," said J. Nadine Gelberg, the president of Get Charged, a company that examines sports technology. "They don't know what's happened to that helmet."