Protecting the brain from concussion: $20-helmet is a good way to protect $100,000 education

Neuropsychologist Kim Gorgens makes the case for better protecting our brains against the risk of concussion -- with a compelling pitch for putting helmets on kids: A $20-helmet is a good way to protect $100,000 education. "Mind your (brain) matter."

Just consider the following tragic story:

Former NFL payer shot himself in chest so that his brain could remain intact for examination for encephalopathy

Before he shot himself fatally in the chest Thursday, the former Chicago Bears defensive back Dave Duerson sent family members text messages requesting that his brain tissue be examined for the same damage recently found in other retired players.

As a longtime force in the N.F.L. players union, Duerson, 50, was keenly aware of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the degenerative brain disease linked to depression, dementia and occasionally suicide among more than a dozen deceased players. He had expressed concern in recent months that he might have had the condition.

“This thing has the whole union community pretty shaken up.”

Related reading:

The protective effects of helmets in skiers and snowboarders - why 15% of neurosurgeons bought helmets right away. BMJ, 2011.

Before Shooting Himself, Duerson Asked That His Brain Be Studied, NYTimes, 2011.

Former NFL payer shot himself in chest so that his brain could remain intact for examination for encephalopathy, NYTimes, 2011.
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE): Brain bank examines athletes' hard hits - CNN, 2012.