Dr Paul Weightman Potter

Shane Christie’s story is heart breaking and urgent. The former Māori All Blacks and Highlanders player suffered severe symptoms after repeated head impacts and, after his death at 39, donated his brain to science. His legacy is a call for better care in rugby.
#CTE #Rugby #Braininjury #Concussion

👏 Huge kudos to @braininjuryhrc.bsky.social for the Unmet Needs Directory. This needs more attention! 70 needs identified, 55 validated, mapping gaps from A&E to rehab and prevention. A brilliant launchpad for real solutions.

hrc-braininjury.nihr.ac.uk/dun

#BrainInjury #Research #neuroscience

As part of the Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems Collaborative, a new guidance on communicating about brain injury was developed for clinicians, researchers, policymakers, and people with lived experience.

Key message: Brain injury doesn't define a person. It's just one part of who they are.

Repeated head trauma causes neuron loss and inflammation in young athletes - Nature Repetitive head impacts from contact sports are associated with brain inflammation, vascular damage and neuron loss that are independent of hyperphosphorylated tau pathology.

New NIH funded work by @jon-cherry.bsky.social and team shows repeated head impacts can cause early neuron loss and inflammation in young athletes, years before classic CTE changes. This shifts the focus to cumulative exposure.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#CTE #TBI #Braininjury #concussion

The next 12 months we will be analysing the neuron derived extracellular vesicles from American footballers to test whether they contain any #TBI or #CTE related markers and if they induce #neurodegeneration like behaviour in cells.

#braininjury #dementia #concussion

Head impacts in sport raise dementia risk for some people. We will study neuron derived extracellular vesicles in blood to learn how injury signals spread and how we can stop them.
#TBI #CTE #Dementia #EVs #Neuroscience

🎉 First day on a pilot grant with @alzheimersresearchuk.org, supported by Wendy Noble and team.
Project: Linking Head Trauma to Dementia: the role of neuron derived extracellular vesicles.
Thank you for the support. I cannot wait to get started. More posts to follow daily.
#ARUK #TBI #Dementia #EVs

Back after two months away for paternity leave and surgery recovery. Grateful for the time and support. Many student athletes do not get this. They feel pressure to study or play through concussion or risk falling behind. That pressure delays recovery. Put brain health first. #Concussion #TBI

👶 I am taking a brief break from Bluesky during paternity leave as we welcome our second child. I look forward to returning and sharing more about #braininjury when life settles. Thank you for the support.
#FamilyTime #BrainHealth

🧠🌍 Happy #WorldBrainDay!
A #braininjury can happen to anyone at any time & its impacts are life-changing.

We’ve developed a Clinical Practice Guideline & Care Pathways to support consistent, evidence-based brain injury care:
🔗 kite-uhn.com/brain-injury...
🔗 www.neurotraumapathways.ca

Why GRAS matters for #concussion
📈 GRAS = Graduated Return to Activity and Sport. Six light-exercise stages over at least 21 days. Slow steps beat total bed rest and cut set-backs.
#TBI #BrainInjury

🧠 You don’t need a direct hit to the head to suffer a #concussion. A heavy body blow, whiplash fall, or blast wave can whip the brain inside the skull and cause the same injury. Watch for symptoms after any big impact.
#Braininjury #TBI

✅ True! Brain injuries are common among survivors of #IntimatePartnerViolence (up to 92% of all IPV cases) because the head, face, & neck are areas most likely to be injured in an assault.

Check out the link below for more info on #braininjury and IPV:
🔗 www.neurotraumapathways.ca/intimate-par...

Pure guess but I would estimate they are the more vulnerable ones. Perhaps weaker necks or other factors

Most exciting results are the surprising ones haha. Good luck applying for funding :)

I see your point, very important to explore this concept. I've got some data on head impacts and subsequent cognitive function changes in amateur American footballers. Perhaps I can see if head impacts in pre-season have any bearing on outcomes later on. Can keep you in the loop if we see anything

Oh that's interesting, I was aware of the increased risk of injury but the subsequent decrease and then increase is new to me. Would love to see the paper when published. Over what time scale roughly does that occur?

A nice metaphor is perhaps one bottle of wine will have no meaningful impact on your life in the long run, but a bottle of wine a night or 10 bottles in one night will. Similar thinking (in my brain at least) about head impacts. (your mileage may vary with the volumes of alcohol lol).

What is known about the mechanisms of #CTE?
🔬 Each impact twists axons, leaks tau, and sparks inflammation. Misfolded tau spreads from cortex to deeper regions, killing neurons and glia. Years later this cascade drives the symptoms we call CTE. 🧠
#TBI #BrainInjury #Concussion

A one off gentle bump to the head (e.g. walking into a door slowly) will likely have no meaningful impact on your life. Keep walking into that door every day or one-off big impacts will definitely be bad!

True? startling statistic! Demonstrates the need to shift the focus more onto non-sporting forms of head injuries

How can reduce the occurrence of CTE?
🛡 Limit head impact forces in training, teach safe technique, strengthen necks, enforce strict return to play rules (with quantifiable data), and track exposure. Fewer knocks today mean healthier brains tomorrow.
#TBI #CTE #BrainInjury

How big is the risk of CTE? 🧠
In donated brains, 50–90% of former pro American-football players. These samples come from families who suspected problems, so the true prevalence across all athletes is still unknown. We need large, unbiased studies to find the real numbers.
#CTE #BrainInjury #science

My pleasure and not a problem at all. Good to bring awareness to this!

Who is at risk of CTE?
🏈 Athletes in contact sports, military personnel, boxers, and anyone with long years of repetitive head knocks, even if many were called mild. More hits and less recovery time mean higher danger.
#CTE #TBI #BrainInjury

What is CTE?
🧠 Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy is a progressive brain disease linked to repeated head impacts. It brings memory loss, mood change, and movement problems years after the exposure to brain injuries.
#CTE #TBI #BrainInjury

What happens when you have a #concussion? 🧠
One month and beyond
📉 Most people improve, but 10–20 % face lingering symptoms.
📊 Tracking mood, sleep, and cognition helps spot persistent issues early.
Lifestyle choices, fitness, social contact, learning, keep brain ageing at bay.
#BrainInjury #TBI

What happens when you have a #concussion? 🧠
Weeks 1–4: Rewiring and plasticity
🧬 Synapses reorganise, new pathways strengthen with practice.
🏃 Structured aerobic exercise boosts blood flow and growth factors.
Sleep quality helps memory and mood gains.
#braininjury

What happens when you have a #concussion?🧠
Days 1–7 Repair and vulnerability
🔄 #Glia clear debris and begin repair, but the #brain will struggle to use sugar
🤕 Symptoms may peak here, headaches, fog, mood shifts.
Gentle activity, neck and balance checks, and nutrition aid recovery.
#Braininjury #TBI

Partly! Lots of factors at play, but the metabolic disruption paired with the mechanical weakness caused by trauma will make the brain more sensitive. Doubly bad, due to a concussion you're more likely to get injured, probably due to cognitive impairment in decision making/balance/reaction