The brain tumor research center at Duke is conducting several clinical trials in malignant glioma.

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Kevin Guskiewicz, director of the University of North Carolina's Matthew Gfeller Sport-Related Traumatic Brain Injury Research Center, said the "vast majority" of kids playing in youth football leagues aren't going to have the type of exposure to injury NFL players have.

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"If the child is horrendously disruptive -- self-injury and hurting themselves -- yes, use medication in young children, " said Dr. Mani Pavuluri, director of the Pediatric Brain Research and Intervention Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

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While Mitchell did not identify the researchers making the requests, among the institutions the family could donate Seau's brain to is Boston University's Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, the research center that found former Chicago Bears safety Dave Duerson suffered degenerative damage to his brain because of repeated hits.

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One model gaining attention, which takes a team approach to care management, is the Healthy Aging Brain program, developed at Indiana University Center for Aging Research, in conjunction with the nonprofit research organization Regenstrief Institute.

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"Early intervention is key, because brain development starts before birth, " says Dr. Pat Levitt, director of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development in Nashville, Tennessee.

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"We are able to measure activities that originate deeper in the brain from the surface without penetrating the brain, " said materials engineer George Malliaras at the Microelectronics Center of Provence in France, who led the research team.

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