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Dr Paul Weightman Potter

@drwp.bsky.social

1.3K followers 2K following 140 posts

🧠🔬 Neuroscientist | Research Fellow @Exeter 💥 Traumatic Brain Injury | 🧪 Immunometabolism 🦠 Microglia, Astrocytes & Brain Energy 🏉 Sport-Related Head Injuries | 🚀 Researching Neurodegeneration 📍 UK | 🏈 American Footballer and current GB Lion

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · May 9

Want to know more about how American Football impacts your brain health? I've got a study going and looking to recruit participants!

4 hours of your time and a little bit of blood, ideally in Exeter, but could also do Bristol, UK

Any questions? Please contact me by DM or email

#BrainHealth #TBI

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 22h

Shane Christie’s story is heart breaking and urgent. The former Māori All Blacks and Highlanders player suffered severe symptoms after repeated head impacts and, after his death at 39, donated his brain to science. His legacy is a call for better care in rugby.
#CTE #Rugby #Braininjury #Concussion

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 1d

👏 Huge kudos to @braininjuryhrc.bsky.social for the Unmet Needs Directory. This needs more attention! 70 needs identified, 55 validated, mapping gaps from A&E to rehab and prevention. A brilliant launchpad for real solutions.

hrc-braininjury.nihr.ac.uk/dun

#BrainInjury #Research #neuroscience

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Reposted by Dr Paul Weightman Potter

Jefferson Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute @mossresearch.bsky.social · 2d

As part of the Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems Collaborative, a new guidance on communicating about brain injury was developed for clinicians, researchers, policymakers, and people with lived experience.

Key message: Brain injury doesn't define a person. It's just one part of who they are.

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 3d

New NIH funded work by @jon-cherry.bsky.social and team shows repeated head impacts can cause early neuron loss and inflammation in young athletes, years before classic CTE changes. This shifts the focus to cumulative exposure.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#CTE #TBI #Braininjury #concussion

Repeated head trauma causes neuron loss and inflammation in young athletes - Nature

Repetitive head impacts from contact sports are associated with brain inflammation, vascular damage and neuron loss that are independent of hyperphosphorylated tau pathology.

www.nature.com

Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 6d

The next 12 months we will be analysing the neuron derived extracellular vesicles from American footballers to test whether they contain any #TBI or #CTE related markers and if they induce #neurodegeneration like behaviour in cells.

#braininjury #dementia #concussion

Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 6d

Head impacts in sport raise dementia risk for some people. We will study neuron derived extracellular vesicles in blood to learn how injury signals spread and how we can stop them.
#TBI #CTE #Dementia #EVs #Neuroscience

Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 7d

🎉 First day on a pilot grant with @alzheimersresearchuk.org, supported by Wendy Noble and team.
Project: Linking Head Trauma to Dementia: the role of neuron derived extracellular vesicles.
Thank you for the support. I cannot wait to get started. More posts to follow daily.
#ARUK #TBI #Dementia #EVs

Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · 7d

Back after two months away for paternity leave and surgery recovery. Grateful for the time and support. Many student athletes do not get this. They feel pressure to study or play through concussion or risk falling behind. That pressure delays recovery. Put brain health first. #Concussion #TBI

Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · Jul 23

👶 I am taking a brief break from Bluesky during paternity leave as we welcome our second child. I look forward to returning and sharing more about #braininjury when life settles. Thank you for the support.
#FamilyTime #BrainHealth

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Reposted by Dr Paul Weightman Potter

Neurotrauma Care Pathways @neurotraumapath.bsky.social · Jul 22

🧠🌍 Happy #WorldBrainDay!
A #braininjury can happen to anyone at any time & its impacts are life-changing.

We’ve developed a Clinical Practice Guideline & Care Pathways to support consistent, evidence-based brain injury care:
🔗 kite-uhn.com/brain-injury...
🔗 www.neurotraumapathways.ca

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · Jul 22

Why GRAS matters for #concussion
📈 GRAS = Graduated Return to Activity and Sport. Six light-exercise stages over at least 21 days. Slow steps beat total bed rest and cut set-backs.
#TBI #BrainInjury

Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · Jul 21

🧠 You don’t need a direct hit to the head to suffer a #concussion. A heavy body blow, whiplash fall, or blast wave can whip the brain inside the skull and cause the same injury. Watch for symptoms after any big impact.
#Braininjury #TBI

Reposted by Dr Paul Weightman Potter

Neurotrauma Care Pathways @neurotraumapath.bsky.social · Jul 18

✅ True! Brain injuries are common among survivors of #IntimatePartnerViolence (up to 92% of all IPV cases) because the head, face, & neck are areas most likely to be injured in an assault.

Check out the link below for more info on #braininjury and IPV:
🔗 www.neurotraumapathways.ca/intimate-par...

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · Jul 18

Pure guess but I would estimate they are the more vulnerable ones. Perhaps weaker necks or other factors

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · Jul 18

Most exciting results are the surprising ones haha. Good luck applying for funding :)

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · Jul 18

I see your point, very important to explore this concept. I've got some data on head impacts and subsequent cognitive function changes in amateur American footballers. Perhaps I can see if head impacts in pre-season have any bearing on outcomes later on. Can keep you in the loop if we see anything

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · Jul 18

Oh that's interesting, I was aware of the increased risk of injury but the subsequent decrease and then increase is new to me. Would love to see the paper when published. Over what time scale roughly does that occur?

Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · Jul 18

A nice metaphor is perhaps one bottle of wine will have no meaningful impact on your life in the long run, but a bottle of wine a night or 10 bottles in one night will. Similar thinking (in my brain at least) about head impacts. (your mileage may vary with the volumes of alcohol lol).

Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · Jul 18

What is known about the mechanisms of #CTE?
🔬 Each impact twists axons, leaks tau, and sparks inflammation. Misfolded tau spreads from cortex to deeper regions, killing neurons and glia. Years later this cascade drives the symptoms we call CTE. 🧠
#TBI #BrainInjury #Concussion

Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · Jul 18

A one off gentle bump to the head (e.g. walking into a door slowly) will likely have no meaningful impact on your life. Keep walking into that door every day or one-off big impacts will definitely be bad!

Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · Jul 18

True? startling statistic! Demonstrates the need to shift the focus more onto non-sporting forms of head injuries

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · Jul 16

How can reduce the occurrence of CTE?
🛡 Limit head impact forces in training, teach safe technique, strengthen necks, enforce strict return to play rules (with quantifiable data), and track exposure. Fewer knocks today mean healthier brains tomorrow.
#TBI #CTE #BrainInjury

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Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · Jul 15

How big is the risk of CTE? 🧠
In donated brains, 50–90% of former pro American-football players. These samples come from families who suspected problems, so the true prevalence across all athletes is still unknown. We need large, unbiased studies to find the real numbers.
#CTE #BrainInjury #science

Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · Jul 15

My pleasure and not a problem at all. Good to bring awareness to this!

Dr Paul Weightman Potter @drwp.bsky.social · Jul 14

Who is at risk of CTE?
🏈 Athletes in contact sports, military personnel, boxers, and anyone with long years of repetitive head knocks, even if many were called mild. More hits and less recovery time mean higher danger.
#CTE #TBI #BrainInjury

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