The second talk is by our featured speaker, Dr. Michael Brant-Zawadski from Hoag Memorial Hospital in Newport Beach, CA. Brant-Zawadski will discuss the changing context of imaging after head injury (RC405B).
"Media attention and even culture change around concussion is outpacing our scientific understanding of the clinical presentation and consequences of mild traumatic brain injury, including repetitive events," Brent-Zawadski wrote in an email to AuntMinnie.com. The functional consequences of such injuries are often transient, and even when they're not, structural correlation may not be present, he said.
"The cellular consequences of direct or transmitted mild impact are just beginning to be elucidated, and attempts at applying advanced imaging methodologies such as [diffusion-tensor imaging] to elucidate those consequences are promising, but still at the level of early clinical research as opposed to diagnostic utility in individual patients," he said. "New radiopharmaceuticals targeting tau tangles may shed light on the transition from postconcussive syndromes to early stages of chronic traumatic encephalopathy."
The final talk in the course covers advanced imaging techniques in traumatic brain injury and will be presented by Dr. Pratik Mukherjee, PhD (RC405C).
