Ann Mckee Case Study

Alzheimer 's disease (AD) was discovered by a German doctor Alois Alzheimer in 1906 when he found amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the autopsy of a woman who died of an unknown mental disease. The extracellular amyloid plaque deposits, composed of insoluble amyloid-Beta peptide were hypothesized to be the main etiological factor. “The most important abnormality is an excess of Amyloid-beta peptides brought about through either overproduction or failure in degradation.” (Uzun, Kozumplik, & Folnegović-Smalc, 2011) Later, it was discovered that intracellular neurofibrillary tangles composed of hyper-phosphorylated, helically-paired tau

Statistics have shown that over 300,000, student athletes have sustained concussions per year. Concussions are the leading factor to student athletes getting CTE. CTE is a degenerative brain disease that involves a buildup of the abdominal protein (Tao). Studies have shown that 21% of high school players will contain CTE in their life (Haelle). Not only are concussions tackling athletes, but football is also causing serious bone injuries. Student athletes suffer an estimated 2 million injuries every year, which results in 500,000, doctor visits and 30,000 hospitalizations. Injuries go from broken figures all the way up to a broken neck or back. Studies have shown and will continue to show that football puts the greatest risk of injury on student athletes.

CTE is a brain disease found in individuals with annals of head trauma. It has specifically been found in athletes with numerous concussions. So far it can only be diagnosed in the deceased, but Dr. Julian Bales and his staff in UCLA have discovered symptoms in living players such as Hall of Famer Anthony “Tony” Dorsett, Hall of Famer Joe DeLamielleure, and NFL All-Pro Leonard Marshall. CTE can cause memory loss, dementia, depression, suicidal thoughts, cognitive and emotional difficulties (Waldron par 1, 2, 3). Is it a compelling issue? A total of 171 concussions were reported in the NFL in the 2012-2013 season; 88 thus far in the 2013-2014 season (Frontline pt). Those are just numbers in the professional level. There are thousands of kids playing football either in youth, middle school, high school, or college level. The diagnosis is currently in progress, researchers are optimistic this could lead to a legitimate treatment, how to manage, and hopefully a cure. Furthermore, this can also possibly lead to an answer to a connection between football and chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Junior Seau, Mike Webster, Terry Long, and Justin Strzelczyk (all of whom are dead now) are all men who played in the NFL for an extent period of time. This is not the only thing they have in common. These former players had an uncustomary

CTE is developed by taking multiple blows to the head which is why many retired football

After the suicide of NFL player Junior Seau last May and the murder-suicide of Kansas City Cheifs player Jovan Belcher, the issue of head trauma and the long term effects it has on players in the NFL has become a very hot topic in the sports and medical field. While the cause of Belcher’s depression has not been diagnosed as caused by any specific disease, the official diagnosis of what made Seau end his life has been cited as CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) (Zeigler, 2012). CTE is a progressive neurodegenerative brain disease which is caused by repetitive head trauma, such as concussions (SLI, 2012). CTE is known to cause depression, severe mood swings,

According to James Bukes of the Pittsburgh Post, “The physical manifestations of CTE are a reduction in brain weight with atrophy of the medial temporal lobe, the frontal and temporal cortices, the brainstem, cerebellum hippocampus and other parts of the brain” (Bukes). This reduction in brain weight and brain size is caused by repetitive hits to the head, which is most often found in sports such as boxing, hockey and most notably, American Football. Due to the reduction of brain size, CTE has become known as an extremely debilitating disease, as well as life threatening. In an article from the Northeastern University the symptoms of CTE have been stated as, “depression, anger, memory loss and suicide” (Polnerow). There have been several cases reported of football players committing suicide, and then later being found to have been afflicted by this disease, most notably Dave Duerson, who donated his brain to CTE research after having committed suicide. Even though CTE has been proven through repeated studies, the general public is still in conflict over the true dangers of CTE and even if CTE is a true disease. In one study, 90 brains that had been examined of football players postmortem, 86 of them had cases of CTE (Storin). This is nearly 96 percent of examined brains that were found to contain CTE, meanwhile only 10 percent of the public are reported

The symptoms of CTE may have life changing effects for both the individual and for his or her family. Some of the most common symptoms include loss of memory, impaired judgment, depression, suicidal behavior, difficultly with balance, and an onset of dementia. An individual with CTE may mistake the symptoms to the normal process of aging, or might receive a wrong diagnosis due to the fact that many of the symptoms are similar to other conditions such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease. CTE is a condition of brain damage which lasts over a period of years or decades and is the result of impacts to the head. The brain of an individual who suffers from CTE gradually deteriorates and some areas will over time end up losing mass, though other areas can become enlarged.5 Another aspect of CTE is that some areas of the brain experience an accumulation of tau protein, a substance which may cause interference with the function of the neurons. Tau is abnormal protein deposits found in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s, the proteins arise in the brains of much younger people and tend to appear first in regions of the brain that aren’t typically affected by Alzheimer’s

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is most commonly found in pro athletes, military victims, and boxing/MMA(Mixed Martial Arts). Lately people in the NFL and people looking into the NFL have been finding some players to have some kind of brain disease or damage because of the

The dependent variables included outcomes from these hits and as well as signs and symptoms from repeated head trauma. In all articles and reviews, the clear confounding variable was the amount of times people were severely exposed to hits directly to the head. Repetitive hits to the head correlated directly with the outcomes of the patients, as well as symptoms. It was obvious to note that greater head injury led to greater and more severe consequences for patients.2,3,5 If possible, I plan to utilize an athlete who experienced repetitive head injuries over the course of several years in my report to investigate if I can find visible signs of CTE. If not, perhaps my greatest ally will be to interview a neurologist and get their input on the matter itself. For this study, a literature review will be conducted which will exam the best 10 articles relevant to the purpose of

A CTE, or Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, is a, “progressive degenerative disease that is believed to plague people who've suffered severe or repeated blows to the head” (Murphy). A player can have a CTE and not even know that they are suffering from it. This is because CTEs can only be discovered after the person dies. Paul Bright, for example, was a football player who played from the time that he was seven until he was a freshman in high school. He had experienced only one concussion, but it changed his entire life. His family and friends described him as hard working and upbeat, but then, something changed. He became reckless and erratic; these traits caused him to die at age twenty-four from a motorcycle wreck. His mother sent his brain off to be tested and discovered that he had been suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. This brain disease had caused him to make the type of impulsive decisions that took his life (Murphy). In addition to the CTEs players may experience, the likelihood of dying from brain and nervous system issues increases significantly for football players. Studies from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health discovered that, “death involving neurodegenerative causes among the retired players was three times higher than in the general U.S. population, and the risk for two major

Within the last few years, the BU ADC developed a new branch called the Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center (CTE Center), which is devoted specifically to research this disease (Boston University, n.d.). In 2015, a team of scientists from the CTE Center conducted a study analyzing the brain tissue of deceased football players. The researchers separated the participants into two groups: (a) those who played professional football, and (b) those who had played football during some part of their lifetime (high school level, college level, etc.). The results showed that 87 of the 91 NFL players tested positive for CTE. In addition, 131 of the 195 subjects who had played football during some part of their lifetime tested positive for CTE (Breslow, 2015). This study proved that CTE could affect any athlete (including high school level athletes), not just professional

Even with the advancements of equipment and rules, CTE is still effecting athletes. Athletes that have suffered significant trauma to the brain are at a severe risk for CTE. CTE has caused countless deaths, dozens of suicides and even

The symptoms of CTE can be very serious. These symptoms include memory loss, impaired or

The disease is caused by a build-up of an abnormal protein, named tau, which strangles brain cells. To this day, CTE has no known cure. However, it can be reversed, slowed down, or even stopped. Though there is a link between concussions and CTE, science has not proven that concussions are a direct cause of CTE. It has quickly risen as a concerning effect of repeat concussions in modern day football.

There is a dark cloud hanging over the world of contact sports and it is growing at an alarming rate. With the size and speed of today’s athletes, the sports of football and hockey have become more exciting, fast paced, wide open, and fun to watch. However, there is another consequence of these ever growing athletes on their sports. They have made the collisions in them increasingly more violent. The velocity that these athletes hurl themselves through the air has created an atmosphere that could not have been imagined when these sports were created. Although the athletes’ bodies have become