The NFL helped fund a study that has led scientists to make a connection between head injuries in athletes and Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS). In research conducted on the bodies of former athletes, the study results indicate that the new disease is similar to but not the same as ALS.

Dr. Ann McKee, a neurology professor at Boston University, who conducted the study, calls the new disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTEM). She says it is likely caused by repetitive head trauma that athletes can be exposed to in sports.

To reach her conclusions, she studied the brains and spinal cords ...

A big high-five to the California Interscholastic Federation for its surprise announcement on Wednesday that high school baseball teams must follow new safety standards for metal bats!

The Federation made the announcement in the wake of serious accidents that brought national attention to the bats’ safety. The state legislature had been considering a law that would have placed a two-year moratorium on the use of metal bats. Assemblyman Jared Huffman, who introduced the bill, said he postponed a vote for months while working with the CIF to implement safety changes. The CIF will ...

It came as no surprise to attorneys at Romanucci & Blandin that local doctors encouraged the transfer of baseball bat beating victim Natasha McShane to her native Belfast, Ireland, for another surgery and rehabilitation. Brain injury victims typically do better in a familiar environment.

Natasha, who suffered a senseless beating on April 23, is eating, walking with assistance and has started to say words, according to her family. Some of her vision is still impaired, and her final prognosis is still uncertain. During her difficult recovery period here, Chicagoans went out of their ...