UPMC: Concussion Scandal Ground Zero

A 7,000-word investigation of the role in the sports concussion crisis of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and its doctors, principally Joseph Maroon, whose many hats include team neurosurgeon for the Pittsburgh Steelers and medical director of World Wrestling Entertainment. The book chronicles how UPMC’s Sports Concussion Program, launched in 2000, led to the development by Maroon and colleagues of the for-profit ImPACT Applications concussion management software company, whose research was underwritten by National Institutes of Health grants. In the era of “concussion awareness” promoted by the National Football League, ImPACT is marketed aggressively to high school and youth programs despite serious questions about its effectiveness.