Energy and Commerce Committee to conduct concussion review

“We have the opportunity to improve our understanding and better care for our kids and families,” said Fred Upton, chairman of the committee.

The Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Fred Upton announced Tuesday that the committee will conduct a “broad review” of concussions in 2016.

According to the announcement, the committee will work with medical experts to determine the implications of concussions and advance understanding of the injury.

“We often hear about concussions in the context of service members and athletes, but this problem goes well beyond the battlefield and the gridiron,” said Upton. “It’s a matter of public health as these injuries are prevalent in all ages and across the population. Unfortunately, there’s a lot we don’t know about head trauma - how it effects different subsets of the population, the short and long term effects, and other details critical to developing effective diagnostics and treatments.”

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Upton also added that the intention of the review is to create a “thoughtful dialogue” about the injury.

“We have the opportunity to improve our understanding and better care for our kids and families,” Upton said.

Concussions and their causes and effects have become prominent topics in sports, especially in the NFL. Concussion, a movie about Dr. Bennet Omalu, who helped discover CTE and linked it to football-specific head trauma after performing autopsies, is set to be released Christmas Day.

- Xandria James