Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis And Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy

ALS and CTE’s are both results of repetitive head trauma. Athletes in sports such as boxing, football, hockey, wrestling and even baseball have been diagnosed with either of these horrific diseases. Head trauma also known as concussions is a major factor when you receive a big hit to the head, the brain bounces back and forth hitting the inside of the skull, which results in some brain damage which affects you both short term and long term. I believe we should bring more awareness to both ALS and CTE’s to find a cure or more ways to prevent it.

ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) or Lou Gehrig’s Disease is a classified as a degenerative neurological disorder that inhibits motor neurons in the spinal cord and brain to function properly. This disease eventually results in paralysis and imminent death over a period of time. ALS patients have anywhere from a few months, to a couple years to live after diagnosis since their nervous systems are slowly destroyed, rendering the body useless, and sustaining life impossible.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or ALS is a disease caused by concussions and head trauma. ALS is a rare neurological disease that mainly involves nerve cells, which control voluntary muscle movement, such as breathing, talking, or chewing. With this being a progressive disease that has no cure it has made a tremendous impact for check ups after blows to the head. A hit to the head does not always mean you have a concussion, but with symptoms and side effects the athlete should not take a chance and get it checked out immediately. This is more of a physical incapacity disease. ALS has become a common disease for athletes in the mid-twenties, and life expectancy is very slim once the diagnosis has taken place. The main reported life periods for ALS athletes has been 3-5 years, but with medication and treatments it has had higher life expectancies about 20% have 5 years, 10% have 10 years, and 5% have 20 years. The athletes lives have changed from the beginning of the diagnoses till the end of the lives they do live with the disease. Being a scary thing to think about athletes do tend to have the ability to walk away at retirement perfectly clear from ALS, which is a win.

Recent studies show that some athletes are now actually being diagnosed with either of these diseases as early as in their late 20’s. For example, Pete Frates, a former baseball player for the Boston College, was diagnosed with ALS at the age of 27. He first realized something was wrong when he was struck on the left wrist with a baseball and never fully recovered from the lingering weakness. He was diagnosed on March 13, 2012 and immediately started to raise awareness. In 2014 he launched the Ice Bucket Challenge along with the help of his friend Pat Quinn to raise money for ALS research. In addition, Chris Henry, who was a football wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals, was diagnosed with CTE at age 26. He is the only known player to have had CTE and was still active in sports. He was diagnosed after he had fallen from a pickup truck and died on December 16, 2009. Although his family had no knowledge of this, they did notice the mood swings, headaches, and anger management issues that he did not have before. Medical research show that athletes such as Pete Frates and Chris Henry are being diagnosed at an early age because they frequently suffer from head trauma and concussions. Athletes often do not realize the potential danger they are putting themselves in each time they play and get a brain

Diagnosed at such a young age, usually non-athletes get diagnosed with ALS at the age of 40-70 with average age at 55. Non-athletes don't suffer with injury to the head as much as Athletes do. Athletes however, tend to be diagnosed with ALS between 20’s and 30’s. CTE was discovered in 3 of 14 high school players and 48 of 53 college players. One Athlete named Junior Seau, who committed suicide in May, two years after retiring as one of the linebackers in the NFL. Seau suffered from the type of Chronic brain damage. The family of Seau stated “ a lot of head-to-head collisions over the course of 20 years of playing in the NFL, developed the detention of his brain and ability to think logically” (paragraph 4), resulted to the disease of CTE.

“The only thing comforting about not knowing this play would be the last of my career, is knowing that I never took a second for granted. After months of introspection, I am retiring from football. I suffered the 3rd and 4th concussions of my career this past season and I am walking away from the game I love to preserve my future health. This decision is the hardest I've made yet but after much research and contemplation I believe it's what is best for me going forward.” - A.J. Tarpley retiring from the Buffalo Bills on April 6, 2016. (Young, Shalize Manza. “Bills' A.J. Tarpley retires after one NFL season, citing concussions.” Yahoo 6 April, 2016).

One of the diseases athletes are being diagnosed with is ALS, or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

The fact that CTE was found in someone as young as Hernandez (27), is a commentary on the dangers high school and college athletes face. The degenerative disease did not have time to develop in Hernandez 3 years in the NFL. This disease began when he was playing football as a youth in school. This furthers the need for research and safety standards as many people who develop this disease will not be professional athletes. Their decision to play sports in school can have a profound impact on their entire life, and should not have their life goals limited because they chose to play sports as a child. The need for research and safety has roots in the life of all who play sports, not just professionals who may be most exposed to the risks.

Tim Shaw is a former football player who was recently was diagnosed with ALS. He plays for the Tennessee Titans. Shaw, age 30 revealed his diagnosis in a video posted on the Titan's website. He is the latest NFL player to be diagnosed with ALS. Dave Mirra a BMX Star who had CTE died due to a gunshot on February 4. He is the very first action sport athlete to be diagnosed with CTE. An autopsy technician found out that he had CTE. Scientist believe repeated head trauma can cause CTE.

The word “Amyotrophic” comes from the Greek language meaning “no nourishment”. ALS causes muscle weakness, problems with coordination, stiff muscles, loss of muscles, muscle spasms, over reactive reflexes, and fatigue. The symptoms of ALS increase rapidly, which makes an individual lose control of the muscles and begin having slurred speech. The arms and legs begin to feel weak and tired unexpectedly, while also experiencing cramps. When a medical professional diagnose someone with ALS they have about 2-5 years to live on average. Although about 10% of people with ALS live up to 10 years with the disease, while 25% live up to 5 years and 50% live up to 3 years. The average age that an individual is diagnosed with ALS is 55, but varies from the ages of

In recent times, arguments have arisen surrounding the safety of athletic involvement in high risk sports, specifically football, and its links to the onset manifestation of neurological illnesses such as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, otherwise known as CTE, is a neurodegenerative illness caused by repeated concussive or subconcussive impacts to the brain. The disease is diagnosed posthumously and is characterized by the excessive accumulation of the tau protein inside the brain, ultimately leading to the atrophy of the cerebral hemispheres. People with CTE exhibit early signs of

In November of 2016 Former NFL Football player, Kevin Turner died of "Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)" at the age of forty-six years old. Shockingly, it was found after his death that he died of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) not ALS. From this new discovery, the idea of ALS and CTE being linked was brought forth. ALS is a disease that attacks and weakens all other parts of the body except the brain, whereas CTE is a brain disease that is found in people who have experienced repetitive head injuries. There has been multiple studies and research on why older athletes are becoming diagnosed with ALS or CTE but now scientists are starting to find the disease in younger athletes as well. The number one fact that has been linked to

ALS got the name Lou Gehrig’s disease from a New York Yankee’s baseball player. Lou Gehrig had his first symptoms when his batting average had plummeted. He couldn’t hit long balls anymore. His strength was deteriorating. He also started to walk very slowly. After things started going downhill, he found out he had the disease which would later be named after him. He had ALS. On June 4, 1939 Lou said good-bye to his fans and Yankee Stadium. He was going to retire from baseball because of the condition he was in. He was dying of ALS. There have also been many other well-known people diagnosed with this disease. Stephan Hawking was diagnosed with ALS in 1963 when he was only 21 years old, and he is still alive.

While football is enjoyable to watch and loved by people all over the world, it can be a dangerous sport to play. The injuries that football players sustain during their careers can later be the cause of them obtaining a brain disease resulting in their death. For example football players have a higher risk of being diagnosed with ALS, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). Some studies have shown that a big percentage of ex-football players that have died, once an autopsy was done, that the ex-football player had had Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). The problem is though that CTE can not be diagnosed until after death once an autopsy has

When the victim reaches between 20 and 30 years of age, the typical symptoms usually begin to make their appearances. People who become affected by CTE are known to start having behavioral problems, become paranoid, have trouble controlling themselves, being depressed, and being more aggressive than usual. Effects become more brutal and apparent when people have CTE for prolonged periods of time; victims of this deadly disease show similar symptoms of dementia, and may eventually be diagnosed with alzheimer's or dementia as well. This affects a person’s system of thinking and remembering things, impairs their own sense of judgement, and can make them more confused than usual. These cognitive symptoms generally make their appearances when people reach their 40’s or 50’s. Although this disease affects each individual differently, it is most commonly seen that symptoms worsen over time. In a study done of CTE, over 200 cases were caused by tackle football players alone. The second place cause of CTE were military veterans, but only 25 cases were investigated and