FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

UNCG and High Point University Collaborate to Protect Athlete Brain Health and Improve Treatment for “Burning Mouth Syndrome” 

GREENSBORO, N.C. (August 14, 2023) – Researchers at UNC Greensboro (UNCG) and High Point University (HPU) are collaborating on two studies to improve treatments for concussion and burning mouth syndrome – a complex neuropathic condition that is often seen in cancer patients – also known as glossodynia. 

Dr. Derek Monroe, assistant professor in UNCG’s Department of Kinesiology, has fitted about a dozen local mixed martial arts (MMA) athletes with mouth guards that use sensors to measure the frequency and magnitude of impacts they sustain. The mouth guards are being fit for each athlete using a specialized dental scanner at HPU’s Workman School of Dental Medicine. Dr. Monroe plans to work with the athletes to analyze their mouthguard data alongside images of their brain, that will be collected using advanced MRI at UNCG, for patterns that might put them at risk for a concussion. 

“The sensors are accelerometers that can measure the direction and velocity of head movements and the accumulation of those head movements are what we think change the way that athletes think and feel. Ultimately, these impacts lead to concussion in some athletes,” says Dr. Monroe. “We don’t understand the neurobiology of all these problems and that’s where these imaging-informed analyses of mouthguard data comes in. What this research is ultimately all about is application and translation to practice – making the sport safer.” 

“Our approach is to go outward and engage in collaborations that are in translational research and patient care research and collaborate with key players that will allow us to answer the question of how we can improve the overall health of patients using our infrastructure,” says Dr. Ali Shazib, associate professor, and dean of practice at HPU’s Workman School of Dental Medicine.  

Building on their initial collaboration, Dr. Monroe and Dr. Shazib are also working together on a study to better understand glossodynia. The condition is often described as a burning, scalding, or tingling feeling in the mouth that may occur every day for months or longer. Dry mouth or an altered taste in the mouth may accompany the pain. 

“The typical patient with burning mouth syndrome often sees seven or eight health care providers before they are formally diagnosed,” says Dr. Shazib. “Many providers don’t even know what burning mouth syndrome is.” 

With Dr. Monroe’s expertise in MRI, UNCG’s Gateway MRI Center, and Dr. Shazib’s work with glossodynia patients, the pair plan to see how MRI scans can better inform treatment. 

"These patients respond differently to treatments and by leveraging my skill set with functional MRI and the facilities and resources offered by UNCG, we could really help to make inroads in an understudied condition,” Dr. Monroe says. 

“There are different treatments we have explored as clinicians but haven’t been correlated with the neuroscience or with what a functional MRI could show us,” says Dr. Shazib. 

The collaboration will not only be of benefit to those suffering concussions and glossodynia, but also students at each university.  

“Many undergraduate kinesiology students are aspiring to work in a clinical role and the more connections we can provide to them, the better prepared they will be for clinical careers and the better it makes our kinesiology program. I expect these efforts will make them aware of career trajectories they had not considered before,” says Dr. Monroe

“This collaboration allows us to open gateways for research projects and gives students the opportunity to rotate between the two institutes,” says Dr. Shazib. “We are really excited to have a partnership that is open, inclusive and expands on the healthcare, education and teaching side.” 

UNC Greensboro

Located in North Carolina’s third largest city, UNC Greensboro is among the most diverse, learner-centered public research universities in the state, with nearly 18,000 students in eight colleges and schools pursuing 175 areas of undergraduate and 250 areas of graduate study. UNCG continues to be recognized in national publications for academic excellence, access, and affordability. For the fourth consecutive year, U.S. News and World Report ranked UNCG No. 1 in North Carolina for social mobility — helping more first-generation and lower-income students find paths to prosperity than any other public university in the state. With a portfolio of more than $56M in research and creative activity, UNCG’s nearly 1,000 faculty and 1,700 staff help create an annual economic impact for the Piedmont Triad region in excess of $1B.