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Tag: Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)

Published on Leave a comment on Survey Found That A Third of Former NFL Players Think They Have CTE

For years it has been known that former professional football players are at risk for chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). A recent survey of almost 2000 former NFL football players found that 34% believe they have CTE. This is a third of former players! There is no cure or treatment for CTE.

CTE is a degenerative brain disease caused by repeated by concussions and repeated blows to the head. Symptoms reported by former NFL players (average age 57.7 years) who thought they had CTE included: depression, cognitive difficulties, mental health problems, and thoughts of suicide. Frequent thoughts of suicide was strongly linked with thinking they may have CTE.

It is unknown how many of the former football players surveyed actually have CTE because it can only be diagnosed after death (by examining the brain). No one knows at this time how many football players will go on to develop CTE.

Excerpts from NPR: A third of former NFL players surveyed believe they have CTE, researchers find

One-third of former professional football players reported in a new survey that they believe they have the degenerative brain disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.

The research, published Monday in the medical journal JAMA Neurology, represents one of the broadest surveys to date of former NFL players' perception of their cognitive health and how widely they report symptoms linked to CTE, which is thought to be caused by concussions and repeated hits to the head. ...continue reading "Survey Found That A Third of Former NFL Players Think They Have CTE"

Published on Leave a comment on CTE Found In Female Professional Athlete

No one should be surprised that chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) has now been diagnosed (after death) in a female professional athlete - Heather Anderson. Years of repeated head trauma, whether from concussions or subconcussive hits, can eventually cause CTE. Head trauma, whether in males or females, occurs from body hits in football, rugby, heading the ball in soccer, and checking in ice hockey.

Heather Anderson was an Australian rules football player who started playing when she was 5, also played rugby, and eventually competed in the top women's Australian rules football league, retired at 23 after a shoulder injury, and committed suicide at 28. Both Australian rules football and rugby are contact sports. After death, her brain was examined and found to have the lesions characteristic of CTE.

CTE symptoms include memory loss, impaired judgement, confusion, aggression, depression, thinking about suicide, and eventually dementia. There is progressive degeneration of brain tissue in CTE, as well as build-up of the abnormal protein tau in the brain.

From NY Times: C.T.E. Found for First Time in Female Pro Athlete

For the first time, the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or C.T.E., has been diagnosed in a female professional athlete, researchers reported. ...continue reading "CTE Found In Female Professional Athlete"

Published on Leave a comment on Football May Not Be A Good Career Choice

Very depressing news about football. A study looking at those who played football long-term (as a career in adulthood) found that for every year of playing tackle football (lots of pounding and repeated head collisions), a person's risk of developing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) increases by 30%. The researchers from the Boston Univ. School of Medicine arrived at this conclusion after looking at 266 deceased former amateur and professional football players.

What was different about this study was that they compared football players who did not develop CTE with those who did - so the researchers thought it was representative of career football players.

The study results make total sense, but are horrifying because of all the children in the US growing up and playing tackle football from a young age. Other studies find brain changes from just playing some semesters in high school or college or before the age of 12.

From Futurity: CTE RISK GOES UP 30% FOR EACH YEAR OF PLAYING FOOTBALL  ...continue reading "Football May Not Be A Good Career Choice"