New findings from a cooperative medical study are showing further evidence of damage caused by concussion in young Canadian hockey players. The Hockey Concussion Education Project - a collaboration of specialists from Canada and the United States - provided new physical evidence on Tuesday identifying early brain change as a result of concussions and observed that diagnosed concussion incidence was 3-5 times higher than previously reported. Using advanced MRI imaging and analysis on 45 male and female adult CIS hockey players over the course of a season, the study revealed that clinically-diagnosed concussions are resulting in small, multimodal organic changes in the brains of athletes that have suffered them. The HCEP study adds that that a history of concussion may result in alterations of the brains white matter make-up. White matter affects how the brain learns and functions by transmitting signals from one part of the brain to the other. Also, comparisons between male and female athletes in the study showed that while male athletes had more significant Susceptibility Weighted Imaging (SWI) MRI findings, female athletes demonstrated a higher incidence of concussion. "What are our societal goals - will we foster the development of our young peoples cognitive, social and physical potential in a safe and protected environment - or will we continue to teach and reward a culture of violence and accepted brain injuries as part of the game?," said Dr. Paul Echlin, the lead author of the study. "Are we able to evolve and make significant or even radical changes in the sports themselves based on the scientific evidence of too many serious short and long-term brain injuries?" HCEP - conducted by Harvard Medical School/Brigham and the Womens Hospital/Massachusetts General Hospital/Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging/Western University of Canada - has published peer-reviewed scientific findings twice (2010 and 2012) highlighting the high incidence of concussion and the damage inflicted on young hockey players. For this study, the CIS players were asked to undergo MRIs at the beginning and end of the season. Those who had suffered concussions had MRIs within 72 hours of the brain injury and again at two weeks and at two months. Puma Womens Shoes On Sale . The seventh-ranked Berdych wants to focus on the ATP Tour after helping the Czechs beat the Netherlands in the first round. Seeking their third straight Davis Cup title, the Czechs will rely again on veteran Radek Stepanek. Puma Womens Shoes Yellow . PETERSBURG, Fla. http://www.cheappumawomensshoes.com/. Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers (5) – He had good saves on Giroux, Akeson, and Hartnell tonight. Puma Womens Shoes Pink . The 27-year-old forward has informed the Leafs that he will be unable to play in Monday nights home game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Puma Womens Shoes Gold . Among the teams moves was trading one of the teams two third round picks, no. 83 overall, to the Chicago Blackhawks for Brandon Bollig, a six-foot-two, 223-pound left-winger who had seven goals, seven assists, and 92 penalty minutes in 82 games last season. PITTSBURGH -- Every time the St. Louis Cardinals faced Francisco Liriano in 2013, the Pittsburgh Pirates left-hander found a way to push the Cardinals around. At long last, St. Louis pushed back. The Cardinals jumped on the Pirates ace early, Yadier Molina hit his second homer of the season and Jhonny Peralta added a late two-run shot as St. Louis pulled away for a 6-1 win on Saturday night. The victory was the first by the Cardinals against Liriano, who went 4-0 with a 1.16 ERA against St. Louis last season, including a triumph in Game 3 of the NL division series. "Hes tough, man, but he caught a lot of the plate with his pitches tonight, especially in the first inning and then on the home run," Molina said. "Hes a tough pitcher and we kind of caught him when he wasnt at his best." Molina finished 2 for 4 and his solo homer in the sixth gave the Cardinals plenty of cushion as they bounced back from a 12-2 loss on Friday by not waiting around for Liriano to get into a rhythm. St. Louis used a three-run first inning to put the Pirates in a quick hole then held on as Joe Kelly (1-0) shook off some rust in his first start of the season. The right-hander worked 5 1-3 innings, walking four and striking out four. "I made some good pitches when I had to but I struggled a little with my command from time to time," Kelly said. "It seemed like when I really needed to make a pitch I was able to do it and avoid getting into big trouble." The Pirates had their chances. They loaded the bases in the third but managed only a single run when Kelly walked Russell Martin. Pittsburgh left 11 runners on base, including seven in the first four innings. "We had opportunities to cash in and we werent able to do it," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said hours after agreeing to a contract extension that will keep him in Pittsburgh through at least 2017. St. Louis reliever Carlos Martinez, who typically works the eighth inning, replaced Kelly with two on and one out in the sixth and retired Starling Marte and Travis Snider on groundouts to end the threat. "It was a part of the game where it could have gone in a different direction fast," St. LLouis manager Mike Matheny said.dddddddddddd "Carlos came out and did exactly what we needed him to do." Liriano, who struck out 10 in six innings on opening day against the Cubs, settled down after initial command issues. He surrendered four runs on seven hits in six innings, walking two and striking out four. "Theyve got some good hitters and they hit some good pitches down and I made a couple of mistakes too," Liriano said after falling to 9-2 in his career at PNC Park. "Thats part of the game. Just one of those nights." It wasnt exactly a repeat of the last time Liriano faced St. Louis, when he held the Cardinals in check in Game 3 of the NL division series to give the Pirates a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series. St. Louis rallied to take the series in five games and six months later it appears the clubs that finished one-two in the NL Central remain evenly matched. The teams have now split the last 26 meetings. For once, however, the Cardinals got the best of Pittsburghs ace by not messing around while he dealt with location issues in the first. Matt Carpenter led off with a single. Peralta walked and Matt Holliday followed with an RBI single to right. Peralta scored on a sacrifice fly by Allen Craig, with Holliday scoring on a perfectly placed single to left by Matt Adams. Molina provided insurance with a homer to right and Peraltas second home run with the Cardinals slipped inside the left field foul pole against Pittsburgh reliever Jeanmar Gomez in the ninth. That was more than enough for a bullpen that didnt surrender a hit in 3 2-3 innings of work. NOTES: Marte went 1 for 5 and has reached base in each of his 17 career games against St. Louis. ... St. Louis reliever Jason Motte, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, participated in a simulated game in Florida on Saturday. Matheny said the team doesnt have a pre-determined role set for Motte, who saved 42 games in 2012 before the injury. ... The series concludes on Sunday when Adam Wainwright (1-0, 0.00) is set to go for St. Louis against Edinson Volquez (0-0, 0.00), who pitched two innings of relief in a loss to the Cubs on Thursday. ' ' '
