How new data reinforces concussion worries.

A study commissioned by the NFL and the U.S. Congress last year to evaluate helmets used in professional football was quashed, but some data from it has recently been released. The original study was considered inconclusive and flawed; however, the results that have been released by the NFL and the player’s union show that even the best helmets used do not prevent concussion.

The significance of repeated concussions, as experienced by boxers and football players alike, is under dispute. But no one argues there aren’t long-term consequences, but how serious are they?

The Good

Paxil is the registered trademark of paroxitine, first marketed in 1992 by Glaxo-Smith-Kline for the treatment of major depression, OCD and anxiety disorders (including panic attacks). It belongs to a class of compounds called Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs). The major advantages of this class over traditional medications are their safety profile. Paxil (and other SSRIs) do not have the addiction potential of Valium or Xanax (anti-anxiety medications) and have fewer side effects than some of the traditional drugs used to treat depression. Paroxetine is also very difficult to overdose with – a risk with depressive patients who may contemplate suicide.

Type II diabetes (sometimes called adult onset diabetes) is characterized by a gradual resistance to the effects of insulin in the body. In short, the amount of insulin secreted by the pancreas doesn’t control blood sugar levels. In the earlier stages, patients may take oral medications that change the body’s response to insulin. In the later stages, patients usually have to have insulin injections.

Avandia (generic, rosiglitazone) acts on cells to sensitize them to insulin so that patients who have become resistant to the effects of their own insulin can return to a more normal state. The drug is sold in three different products, all manufactured by Glaxo-Smith-Kline. Avandia is a single ingredient form; Avandamet is a combination with metformin; and Avandaryl is a combination with glimepiride. The combinations are with drugs that increase insulin secretion with the strategy of both increasing production of insulin and increasing the sensitivity to the hormone.

“Eat right, get plenty of sleep, and exercise.” That is the mantra – a recipe for good health. Americans are taking the advice to heart. For example, in Billings, there are more than a dozen commercial gyms (a few down the road in Laurel) that offer services like workouts, exercise machines and even personal trainers. There are also public exercise facilities in community centers, schools and universities. Even some hotels in Montana throw in a workout room as part of an overnight stay. But what about when the way we exercise turns out to be harmful?

It may surprise you that to build muscle, damage to muscle has to occur. This doesn’t mean outright tears or bruising, but damage at the cellular level. Sports physiologists and body builders know that increasing muscle mass involves a cycle of injury and repair – the body responds to minor trauma from exercise by adding more muscle as it heals. This is the reason behind the rule of only strenuously exercising a single muscle group every other day. It takes time to heal.