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Tag: brain injury

  • Frankie Leal: Boxer Dies from a Brain Injury

    The boxing community is mourning the death of 26 year-old Mexican featherweight fighter Frankie Leal, who is also known as “Little Solder.” The boxer died today from a brain injury sustained in the eighth-round on Saturday night in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico against Raul Hirales.

    Leal was behind the entire bout, even falling to the mat in the sixth round. Towards the end of the eighth round, Hirales punched Leal twice in the back of the head and knocked him down. However, Leal got back up on his feet, only to instantly fall back down on the mat. The fight was then called off with seconds left in the round, the featherweight was removed from the ring on a stretcher and admitted to a hospital where he was already in a coma. He died three days later in a hospital in San Diego, California.

    No one knows why some boxers can take a beating and walk out of the ring in good shape, while other fighters are more susceptible to life-changing traumatic injuries or even death. Referees are trained to look for certain criteria when deciding whether a fighter has had too much or can take another hit. Laurence Cole, a referee who has worked many high profile bouts discussed some of the warning signs, “You’re looking for several pieces that all fall together. You look at the fatigue of [the fighter], how his feet are underneath his body, how much effort he’s taking to keep maintaining his balance, the condition of his neck.

    Here’s a video of Hirales’ knockout punch:

    A lot of questions about whether Leal should have been allowed to box in the first place are being raised today. This was not his first time being removed from the ring on a stretcher. In 2012, Leal was knocked out in a bout with IBF featherweight champ Evgeny Gradovich. However, the boxer fought on, and returned to the ring in January, 2013. This was Leal’s fifth fight this year.

    Leal will finish his career with a 20-8-3 record with 13 knockouts. Bruce Trample, who is a Top Rank matchmaker, posted on his Twitter account today, “This is so wrong. I thought Leal was going to die the night he fought Gradovich, but he kept going and going until this. RIP.” Trample believes that Leal’s death could have been avoided and that his cornerman and trainer should take on some responsibility.

    Many agree with Trample:

    Image via Youtube

  • Stroke Treatment Reveals Targets For Better Recovery

    A new study has identified mechanisms responsible for regenerating blood vessels in the brain. The research could improve recoveries for stroke patients and lead to better overall outcomes.

    The study, published in the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, shows researchers used a common blood pressure-lowering medication to identify factors in the brain that help it recover following a stroke. Although candesartan protects the brain after a stroke, it is avoided because low blood pressure soon after a stroke can decrease oxygen to the brain during a critical recovery period.

    “The really unique thing we found is that candesartan can increase the secretion of brain derived neurotrophic factor, and the effect is separate from the blood pressure lowering effect,” said Ahmed Alhusban, co-author of the study and a doctoral candidate at the University of Georgia. “This will support a new area for treatments of stroke and other brain injury.”

    The research shows that candesartan blocks the angiotensin II type 1 receptor in the brain, which lowers blood pressure, stimulates the AT2 receptor, and increases the secretion of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). BDNF is associated with blood vessel growth in the brain, and the AT2 receptor has been tied to the growth of new blood vessels from already existing vessels.

    “BDNF is a key player in learning and memory,” said Susan Fagan, research lead and assistant dean for clinical programs at University of Georgia’s College of Pharmacy. “A reduction of BDNF in the brain has been associated with Alzheimer’s disease and depression, so increasing this growth factor with a common medication is exciting.”

  • Man Hits Head And Becomes Piano Savant

    A 40 year old man in Denver dove into the shallow end of a pool 6 years ago and he suffered a severe concussion, hearing and memory loss. A few days after the accident, Derek Amato sat down at a piano and played an original composition that lasted for hours. “As I shut my eyes, I found these black and white structures moving from left to right, which in fact would represent in my mind, a fluid and continuous stream of musical notation.”

    He became only the 30th known person to have a syndrome known as an “acquired savant.” Acquired savant syndrome are instances in which dormant savant skills emerge, sometimes at an extraordinary level, after a brain injury or disease in previously non-disabled people where few such skills were evident before the injury or disease. The other type of savant is the “congenial savant.” They are born with a disorder of the brain such as autism.

    The Idea of being a savant by hitting your head is severe and not at all worth it because you would no longer be a normal functioning adult. But if you had to choose what to become a savant in I’m pretty sure most of us would choose: