Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy

Hello everyone. I am aware that many of you in this room participate in collegiate sports and many of these facts that I will inform you one you may not like to hear but I feel that it is important for people to know. According to NCAA.org, 10,500 brain injuries have occurred, 3,400 of which have been from football alone. In addition to this, 30% of these have been in females. Brain injuries are extremely hard on the body and can result in life long damage or even death, and it is very important for the student athletes to be aware of these risks and what they can do to prevent them.

CTE affects many different athletes all over the world. Chronic Traumatic encephalopathy or normally referred to as CTE is a brain disease that affects people who have had multiple head injuries. It is found in many cases of ex NFL players who took many hits to the head when playing over their careers. There are many documented cases of it across other sports and some military veterans as well. We have made large strides in learning more and more about the terrible disease. The game of football has changed since we have learned so much more about the terrible disease in recent years. We could prevent concussions by changing the way players practice.

“This sport will never die, but it will never again be, as it was until recently, the subject of uncomplicated national enthusiasm.” This thesis statement introduces us to the basis of what this article sets out to convey. Football is a tradition that is loved by America, but previously lacked the issue of concern that it does now. The most concerning issue that the author is talking about is chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. Caused by multiple head injuries, over a span of time, this disease results in atrophy of the brain, mood disorders, and dementia. The hidden damage caused by these injuries is taken into consideration when deciding to play football, however it is believed that this risk will deter players from joining in

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

Since the 1920s, there has been a severe disease linked to athletes. Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a disease that effects athletes that have had head trauma. The trauma causes the brain tissue to deteriorate. The changes can become apparent after months, years, or even decades. CTE is linked to memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, impulse control problems, aggression, depression, and, eventually, progressive dementia. (“What”, 2009). CTE has caused football to change as well as the equipment. CTE is now widely known and is effecting, not only professional athletes, but also high school athletes. Concussions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy are serious conditions that can affect anyone and have adverse effects.

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

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

My first research project was the dangers and preventions of concussions in sports. Concussions can be very dangerous if you are not wearing the proper equipment and do not treat them properly. For those of you who don’t know “a concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury that is caused by a blow to the head or body, a fall or another injury that jars or shakes the brain inside the skull”. There are many symptoms of a concussion. “You may be suffering from a concussion if you experience dizziness, headache, off-balance, amnesia for what occurred before the head trauma, anterograde amnesia (a loss of ability to create new memories after the head trauma), difficulty concentrating, irritability and vomiting”.

Concussions have been known about since the early 1900s. During this time concussions did not receive the attention that it receives now. In mainstream media today concussions are a growing issue, not only in professional sports but also at high school and college levels. It is believed that Dr. Bennet Omalu was the first person to come up with a study and show that concussions are very dangerous and the great effects it has. His focus was mainly towards American football but it was helpful to others who did not play football as well. Dr. Bennet Ifeakandu Omalu is a forensic pathologist who was the first to publish findings of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in American football players while working at the Allegheny County Coroner 's Office in Pittsburgh. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in people with a history of repetitive brain trauma, including symptomatic concussions as well as sub concussive hits to the head that do not cause symptoms (Boston University, 2015). CTE has been known to affect boxers since the 1920’s (when it was termed punch drunk syndrome or dementia pugilistic). However, in recent years the disease has been found in other athletes, including football and hockey players, as well as in military veterans (Boston University, 2015). CTE is not limited to professional athletes; it has also been found in athletes who did not play sports after high school or college. The repeated brain trauma

Concussions are becoming less of an issue due to better procedures and management. Many kids who are into contact sports will receive a concussion at some point in their career. This became a serious issue around the early 1990s and is now one of the most serious issues in today 's sports. The main concern is trying to know when kids are ready to get back onto the field. Coaches, doctors, and parents are getting worried about the safety of their kids and are skeptical about letting them continue in sports. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of death and disability in children around the world and accounts for approximately half of all trauma deaths (Di et al. 2). Only about ninety-percent of traumatic brain injuries are considered mild injuries, but the effects from them are still severe. Traumatic brain injuries are any type of head injury such as concussions or even contusions. Most kids and their parents do not know the basic facts about traumatic brain injuries which is hurting them in the long run. However, doctors are aiming to improve diagnosis, treatments, outcomes in the long run, and trying to get adult familiar with the process so they can help their children as well.

They are: cerebral neurasthenia, chronic traumatic brain injury, chronic brain injury, compensation hysteria, concussion neurosis, delayed traumatic apoplexy, dementia traumatic, encephalopathy traumatica, litigation neurosis, postconcussion neurosis, post concussion syndrome, post-traumatic concussion state, post-traumatic head syndrome, post-traumatic psychoneurosis, terror neurosis, traumatic constitution, traumatic encephalitis, traumatic encephalopathy, traumatic encephalopathy of boxers, traumatic hysterias, traumatic insanity, traumatic neurosis, traumatic psychosis, and chronic traumatic encephalopathy. (2) Dr. James Noble, a Columbia University neurologist who was invited to write an editorial to accompany the article, said he hopes this case will bring attention to amateur athletes who may be at risk for CTE even if they don’t play professionally. But Eric Nauman, a professor at Purdue a member of the Purdue Neurotrauma Group, said while the case provides more evidence of the danger of repeated impact to the head. Researchers should also be looking for cases of CTE in individuals without obvious symptoms, Nauman said. Toward the end of his time on the field, he felt his brain slowing down and knew something was wrong. He saw himself in the stories of former NFL

“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).

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

The main event in this article is that most of the football players starting from before high school, during high school, semi professionally, in the Canadian Football League, and also in the NFL have brain disease. A study of 111 NFL players were tested to see if they had a brain disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) everyone failed, but one person. CTE can be caused from daily practices and games of high school football players. Brain injuries can cause bipolar disorder, Alzheimer's disease and dementia. Ninety-six percent of the twenty-seven former players had behavioral or mood systems while they were alive. If you play a sport, you should be more careful to prevent the chance of you getting the disease chronic traumatic

There are many people in the United States that sustain traumatic brain injuries each year. Despite similar signs and symptoms, there are no two “acute” concussions that present the same, nor do they always or ever have the same outcomes. A TBI can present much differently when you are comparing children and adults, mainly for the fact that adults have more mature tissues and brain structure versus children having immature, developing tissues. Post-concussion syndrome is a common issue that people develop after suffering from a concussion or TBI. Post-concussion syndrome (PCS) is when you suffer from symptoms that have not gone away or healed from the injury. PCS can last from a few months to even years after the initial injury. Although PCS is deemed recoverable, there is always a possibility of long term consequences. There are many degenerative diseases that are related to head trauma, whether that be subconcussive or concussive injuries. Some of neurodegenerative diseases that are associated with head trauma are: Alzheimer disease, Parkinson disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Many of the signs and symptoms for each disease sometimes overlap with other diseases, specifically overlapping with chronic traumatic encephalopathy. At one point in history concussions were not seen as a big deal, until researchers realized that there are many long term consequences that come into play when a traumatic brain injury occurs. The consequences may not be present at the time of the injury, but many years down the road developing a neurodegenerative disease because of the excessive repetitive brain trauma is extremely concerning. The rate of concussions for youth needs to decrease. This could be possible by implementing new rules or regulations for different sports and extracurricular