Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy: A Case Study

Some patients, however, do experience post-concussion syndrome (PCS) with symptoms lasting longer than expected. Post-concussion syndrome can include physical, cognitive, and emotional problems, including headache, dizziness, difficulty concentrating or completing tasks, irritability, and the sense that you “just don’t feel like yourself”.

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is caused by many years of playing football. The National Football League (NFL) does not associate CTE to players that have played many years in the NFL. CTE is the root cause of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in football players. The NFL needs to take more steps to prevent injuries that cause CTE and other types of brain damages by taking hard hits more seriously and the test should be better determined for concussions.

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or better known as CTE has gained momentum in areas of public awareness and scientific involvement in recent years due to the popularized sport on American Football. During recent years, the media has been swaying and educating the public on the adverse outcomes that CTE can initiate. However, the first discovery of this disease was diagnosed by pathologist Harrison Martland and can be related back to the late 1920’s; the first true cases were identified in the physical sport of boxing. During that time, CTE was commonly known as dementia pugilistica meaning “punch drunk” from the wobbly nature of boxers during repetitive hits to the head.1,2 It was determined that dementia pugilistica (also known as boxer’s

The signs and symptoms of a concussion consist of the following: headache, dizziness, difficulty with memory, sensitive to light and sound, and many more.

There are long-term as well as short-term symptoms. The most common symptoms are confusion, headaches, dizziness, nausea, difficulty with memory, and disturbances with vision. Other symptoms include clumsiness, slurred speech, sluggishness, ringing in ears, and behavioral or personality changes. There are three different types of concussions and the symptoms vary for each. These three are grade 1, 2, and 3. In a grade 1 concussion, there is no loss of consciousness and symptoms last for no longer than 15 minutes. Grade 2 concussions entail no loss of consciousness but symptoms last a bit longer. Finally, in grade three concussions, symptoms last for weeks and even months with the immediate symptom of losing consciousness. Even if you don’t feel any symptoms, your brain is still not 100 percent. In addition suffering one concussion makes someone more susceptible to suffering an additional concussion. If you were to suffer multiple concussions, it puts you at risk for second impact syndrome, which has its own symptoms very similar to any normal concussion. This condition could be life threatening. (Retrieved from http://www.nationwidechildrens.org/concussions-in-sports) This is very uncommon in most people and really only applicable to athletes but leagues have still taken action to avoid this condition. If anyone has any symptoms of a concussion or hit their head hard enough, they should see a doctor

When the effects start to affect the body some people think the affects are from anything such as the flu to mono. The after effects of concussions include those of minor/major headaches or migraines, dizziness that you can’t explain pain in your neck, etc. When these things happen one may lose consciousness and may even lose control of their body. It's proven that when concussions occur 80-90% of the time the brain and body will return to regular function as before within 90 days after the occurrence.

One person who is experienced with CTE is a guy name Preston plevretes. Preston was a high schooler when this happened.he was a football player for his team, he had good grades, and was treated normally as any student within his school. But one football game changed.he got a blow to the head knocking him out, he was soon rushed to the hospital where they had to operate on a huge dent in his skull and the damage the brain received. They fixed the best they could but he had a hard time speaking, as well as walking or doing simple things without assistance changing the way he sees life as a whole.

Post-concussion syndrome is a complex disorder with symptoms can consist of headaches, dizziness, fatigue, and irritability that can last as little as a week and up to months after a head injury. The causes can be a traumatic blow to the head or neck injuries in which the patient does not have to lose consciousness. The effect of being injured can do permanent damaged to the brain and nervous system. Dealing with Post-concussion syndrome not only can have a physical effect, but a psychological one as well (Mayo clinic page 2).

Playing football is not like playing other sports. Athletes in all kinds of sports risk injuring themselves, but in football, a lot of the risk comes from other athletes. While there are many ways to be injured playing football, one of the worst is head-to-head targeting. This has been a problem in football since the beginning of the game, especially, when equipment was not very protective. Over the past eight years, the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) has implemented rules and penalties specifically designed to protect players and to hopefully reduce the number of bad head injuries (Marshall). The NCAA is doing the right thing by protecting players from severe injury by calling and enforcing targeting penalties.

Iyer supports the awareness of any trauma to the head regardless of severity can lead to side effects. “45 percent of all concussions were due to a hit to the front of the head by another player. The second and third most common causes were hits to the side and back of the head. The least common cause of a concussion was a hit to the top of the head” Iyer uses the information provided by the combination of Dawn Comstack, the lead researcher of Colorado School of Public Health, and several of her colleagues from the University of Colorado. With this data, Iyer suggests the urgency of coaches, parents, doctors and teachers when it comes to any form of head trauma to a player in the sport of football. Iyer also mentions the importance of proper tackling techniques and how these techniques must be instilled at the earliest experience with the

Headaches, irritation, and confusion; these are some of the symptoms of a concussion. Diagnosed with an acute concussion, I was left with limitations. I felt chained down in one spot, unable to move forward for the first five months of my junior year. Listening to loud sounds or using my brain would trigger a badgering headache which prohibited me from attending full class

Early symptoms usually subside within days or weeks. seeing bright lights, Tinnitus, or a ringing in the ears, is also commonly reported. Cognitive symptoms include confusion, disorientation, and difficulty focusing attention. Loss of consciousness may occur, but is not necessarily correlated with the seriousness of the concussion. Being slow to respond to questions or directions, having a vacant stare, or having slurred words are also symptom. Also another symptom is the sleeping pattern. Concussion may be under-diagnosed because of the lack of the highly noticeable signs and symptoms while athletes may minimize their injuries to remain in the competition. People may be released after assessment from hospital or emergency room to the care of a trusted person with instructions to return if they display worsening symptoms. Another illness is post-concussion syndrome as Mrs. Maldarelli says “In post-concussion syndrome, symptoms do not resolve for weeks, months, or years after a concussion, and may occasionally be permanent. About 10% to 20% of people have post concussion syndrome for more than a month. Symptoms may include headaches, dizziness, fatigue, anxiety, memory and attention problems, sleep problems, and irritability. There is no scientifically established treatment, and rest, a recommended recovery technique, has limited effectiveness. The question of whether the

Brain trauma can cause a build-up of an abnormal type of a protein called tau, which slowly kills brain cells. Once started, these changes in the brain appear to continue to progress even after exposure to brain trauma has ended. Possible symptoms include memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, paranoia, impulse control problems, aggression, depression, and eventually progressive dementia. CTE can worsen a person’s condition to the point that they may develop symptoms of many other diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Symptoms can begin to appear months, years, or even decades after trauma has ended. Currently, CTE can only be diagnosed after death by brain tissue analysis. (“Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).” Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica

Leaders agree that the best ways to prevent concussion are: Play by the rules. Teaching young athletes to respect the rules of their sport is part of good coaching. However, coaches who have coached for 20 to 40 years are the main ones that think going back to the classroom and on training field is not the right answer for changing the way players block and tackle. Most veteran coach believes that if the equipment; mouth piece; and the helmet; has been improved and in compliances with the new safety rules, then this is all they need towards the prevention of injuries on the field. In the meantime, sticking to the old way of practice and playing on game day will help them win games, but yet in still athletes are at risk. The education is a good

Head (Brain) injury is known as a major public health problem that is a frequent cause of death and disability in young people, Among the many challenges that survivors of traumatic brain injury must face, behavior problems rank among the most difficult. Traumatic brain injury, or TBI, is a type of brain injury that occurs when trauma causes damage to the brain. It can cause when a person 's head suddenly or violently hits an object, or an object hits the person, and damages the brain tissue. A person with a TBI may remain conscious or he/she might be unconscious for a few minutes. Some symptoms of TBI include headache, confusion, lightheadedness, dizziness, blurred vision or tired eyes, ringing in the ears, bad taste in the mouth, fatigue or lethargy, a change in sleep patterns, behavioral or mood changes, and trouble with memory, concentration, attention, or thinking. These symptoms might be experienced by any person with mild, moderate to severe TBI (Real Warriors).