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STUDY OBJECTIVES: While previous research has primarily focused on the immediate effects of concussion within the first year post-injury, this study examines the persistent effects of concussion on subsequent sleep quality in adolescent soccer players. METHODS: This study utilized a cross-sectional design, recruiting a convenience sample of adolescent athletes from US Youth Soccer camps. Participants completed a self-reported questionnaire including the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) to assess their sleep quality. Athletes were also asked to report sport participation information, any past occurrence of concussion or knee injury, and any sport-related injury in the past 12 months. Independent Samples t-tests were performed to identify significant differences in PSQI scores between injured and non-injured participants. RESULTS: A total of 177 participants (103 male, 14.61±1.88 years) were included in the analysis. The concussion injury group exhibited later bedtimes (difference: 0.32±0.05 hours; p=0.047), fewer hours of sleep (difference: 0.56±0.11 hours, p=0.015), and more frequent sleep disturbances (p=0.012). Furthermore, these athletes reported lengthened sleep latency (difference: 2.55±3.36 minutes, p=0.016) and higher levels of daytime dysfunction (p=0.041) following their concussion injuries. Moreover, athletes in the concussion injury group displayed worse sleep quality scores (difference: 0.42±0.06, p<0.001) and higher total PSQI scores (difference: 1.91±0.41, p<0.001). No significant differences were found based on past knee injury or sport-related injury in the past 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest the need for targeted interventions aimed at improving sleep quality in adolescent athletes with a history of concussion.
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OBJECTIVE: Dexpanthenol (DXP), which has known neuroprotective effects, has been shown to be beneficial in various experimental models and ischaemic diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible neuroprotective effects of DXP in a traumatic brain injury (TBI) model. METHODS: Thirty-six Wistar-Albino female rats, approximately 6 months old, weighing 220-285 g were used. All rats were subjected to closed head trauma by dropping a weight of 350 g on the parietal region from a height of 50 cm at an angle of 180 degrees in the prepared head trauma model setup. The rats were divided into four groups as control (group 1), trauma (group 2), trauma + DXP (group 3), and DXP (group 4). In group 3, DXP was administered intraperitoneally at a dose of 500 mg/kg for six times at 30 minutes, 6, 12, 24, 36, and 48 hours. In group 4, DXP was administered intraperitoneally simultaneously with group 3 without causing head trauma. Blood samples were taken from all rats 72 hours later for biochemical examination. After blood samples were taken, rats were decapitated under general anaesthesia. Cerebral tissue samples were taken from decapitated rats for immunohistochemical and histopathological examination. RESULTS: Cytokine markers were found to be increased in posttraumatic brain tissue. Malondialdehyde and glutathione reductase levels were lower in group 3 compared to group 2. In addition, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and catalase levels were significantly higher in group 3 compared to group 2. In histological evaluation, congestion in the piamater layer, cell infiltration, vascular congestion, hemorrhage and neuronal degeneration were significantly decreased in group 3 compared to group 2. DXP seems to be beneficial in neurological recovery in terms of histological and oxidative changes after head trauma in rats. CONCLUSION: DXP should be further evaluated for its possible therapeutic effect in TBI.
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Wearable inertial measurement units (IMUs) can be utilized as an alternative to optical motion capture as a method of measuring joint angles. These sensors require functional calibration prior to data collection, known as sensor-to-segment calibration. This study aims to evaluate previously described sensor-to-segment calibration methods to measure joint angle range of motion (ROM) during highly dynamic sports-related movements. Seven calibration methods were selected to compare lower extremity ROM measured using IMUs to an optical motion capture system. The accuracy of ROM measurements for each calibration method varied across joints and sport-specific tasks, with absolute mean differences between IMU measurement and motion capture measurement ranging from <0.1° to 24.1°. Fewer significant differences were observed at the pelvis than at the hip, knee, or ankle across all tasks. For each task, one or more calibration movements demonstrated non-significant differences in ROM for at least nine out of the twelve ROM variables. These results suggest that IMUs may be a viable alternative to optical motion capture for sport-specific lower-extremity ROM measurement, although the sensor-to-segment calibration methods used should be selected based on the specific tasks and variables of interest for a given application.