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A study by UPMC sports concussion researchers found that high school athletes demonstrated memory dysfunction requiring longer recovery compared to college athletes.

The recently completed three-year project is the first to examine age as a factor in concussion recovery, revealing that players at the prep level should be handled differently than older athletes -- no questions asked.

"We're hoping this will make a difference," said Dr. Melvin Field, chief resident in the department of neurological surgery at UPMC and the principal investigator in the study. "The focus is so much on pro athletes having concussions, but the reality is that for every one pro football player to sustain a concussion, there are 500 to 1,000 concussions occurring in high school athletes.

"Most of these players may not go on to pro careers, but they're our next doctors, lawyers and politicians. The effects of a concussion can be debilitating and affect them in their attempts at these careers and many others."

In the study, a comparison of post-concussion recovery time between high school and college athletes examined them at 24 hours, three days, five days and seven days post-injury.

High school athletes showed significant memory impairment even after seven days. Meantime, college athletes revealed significant memory deficits only within the first 24 hours and returned to form in three days.

"Our finding that high school athletes did not recover from concussions as quickly as college athletes is a cause for concern because the largest majority of at-risk athletes are at the high school level or below," Field said. "Furthermore, existing return-to-play guidelines assume a standard use for all age groups and levels of play, from school-age to professional. Our study is the first to suggest that there may be differing vulnerabilities to concussion at different ages and that current guidelines may not be appropriate for all age groups."

Baseline testing is the key, according to Field. UPMC concussion experts helped to develop a computerized testing system to evaluate the severity of concussions in athletes known as ImPACT (Immediate Postconcussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing).

With ImPACT, doctors conduct a 20-minute preseason computer evaluation to establish baseline data about each athlete. If an athlete experiences a concussion during the season, he or she is retested and the postconcussion data is compared to the baseline data. When the athlete's brain functions return to normal, he or she is then allowed to resume the sports activity.

ImPACT is used by the NFL, NHL, Major League Baseball and NASCAR. It is also used by the majority of high school athletic programs in southwestern Pennsylvania, due to the influence of UPMC in the area.

Field would like to see ImPACT used throughout the nation, in hopes that high school athletic programs can accurately assess when an athlete should return from sustaining a concussion.

Southwestern Pennsylvania is currently ahead of the curve. Field would like to see the rest of the country catch up -- and his research backs up his desire.

"This is easy: When they're back to normal, they can play. If not, they don't play," Field said. "It keeps the decision-making out of coaches' hands and the parents can't be mad that Joey's sitting out and missing a chance for a scholarship. The test will tell you when the athlete is ready. That's the best way to go for our kids."

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