Prolonged abnormalities found in advanced MRI's raise concerns for Western scientists

Western University researchers havefound that the brains of younghockey playersthat had suffered a concussionwere still healing afterkids had been cleared to return to the ice.

The research was done by a team of scientists who used advanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) techniques to study a handful ofhockey players, aged 11-14.

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Playerswho had suffered a concussion,had an MRI within 24-72 hours of the injury, and again three months later.

Whatscientists found was thatchanges in the white matter of the brain persisted at the three month mark.

"These are essentially the wiring tracts that connect the different areas of your brain," saidRaviMenon, aprofessor at the SchulichSchool of Medicine & Dentistry and a scientist at the RobartsResearch Institute.

"The brain at the threemonth mark was still trying to compensate for that damage by rerouting signals around so that the brain could actually try to avoid the wiring that was damaged."

Allow more time to heal

Menon saidmore research is needed to determine the long term implications for the injured young person. But, at the very least, he suggestscareful observation after a young player suffers a concussion.

"Maybe we shouldn't rush the kids back into the game," he said. "There's no million dollar contracts on the line at this point. Just wait a few weeks."

Menonsaidit might also be time to consider revamping the standard 'Return to Play' protocol for concussions. He points out, the players whohad suffered a concussion had all returned to the game because clinical evaluations showed no troubling symptoms. But, the MRI found that changes were still occurring in the brain.

"This is potentially of some concern and we'd like to understand this further to determine if these are normal healthy changes or if they are indicative of something that might be going wrong," said Menon.