President Obama Funds Youth Concussion Research
Thursday, May 29, 2014
By: Carmel Delshad

May 29, 2014 | WMFE, Orlando - The White House is launching new efforts to reduce childhood concussions. The announcement came during a summit on sports-related concussions in children on Thursday.

Photo: An example of a concussion. Courtesy of: Patrick J. Lynch | Wikimedia

Nearly 250,000 kids visit the emergency room for sports or recreation-related brain injuries each year, according to The White House. But there are gaps in just how much concussions affect children and young adults—and the President wants to change that.

Among the announcements President Obama made: a joint effort between the NCAA and the Department of Defense, launching a $30 million fund for a clinical study on concussions.

Nemours Orlando Neurosurgeon Dr. Todd Maugans was at the summit. He says that although the research funding is slim compared to other public health issues like cancer, any amount is a step in the right direction.

“It’s still a substantial amount of money that I think if well-spent, can get us closer to better understanding how concussions occur, and therefore how we can prevent concussions and therefore appropriately manage concussions," Maugans says.

The President announced a total of $86 million in funding related to youth concussion research and detection.

Other research efforts include:

• An NFL commitment of $25 million over the next 3 years to support projects promoting youth sports safety. This includes new pilot programs to expand access to athletic trainers in schools

• The National Institutes of Health will launch a research effort to detect, characterize and measure the chronic effects of repetitive concussions to inform clinical trials aimed at preventing or slowing disease progression.

• A $10 million investment of the UCLA Steve Tisch BrainSPORT Program to target sports concussion prevention, outreach, research and treatment to athletes of all ages.

• USA Cheer will launch a new Head Injury Protocol to over 300,000 cheerleaders and coaches at summer clinics nationwide

• The Center for Disease Control and Prevention will promote the Heads Up to Parents app, which helps parents learn how to spot concussion symptoms and what to do if they suspect their child has one.

You can read the full text of President Obama's remarks here.