Dr. Bennet Olamu: Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy

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

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,

While examining his brain, they found the first case of CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) in a football player (Ezell). Dr. Omalu continued into the brains of football players. He diagnost another player with CTE. After that, two other doctors connect concussions to dementia. Dr. Bailes and Dr. Guskiewicz wrote, “that the onset of dementia-related syndromes may be initiated by repetitive cerebral concussions in professional football players” (Ezell). This was the first major finding connecting football to brain injuries.

Did you know that 99% of the dead NFL players had signs of Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) when scientist looked through their brain (Ventras)? Most people wouldn’t know this fact, but scientist do and have known this since 2002. Even though they are making improvements, there is still an alarming rate of concussions happening. This report will discuss who is affected, how it can be prevented, how it is affecting sports today.

Football has been in the spotlight after many suicides and even murders. The National Football League (NFL) has been the cause of 87 cases of CTE. (“New”, 2015). Many of these cases were hidden from the public by the NFL. It was only until a doctor, by the name of Bennet Omalu, took on the NFL. The recent movie “Concussion” starring Will Smith showed how Dr. Omalu found the disease. Dr. Omalu is the reason why the NFL has started taking preventive measures for this disease. Dr. Omalu recently stated that 90% of all NFL players have CTE. Many players have retired from their football careers because of the fear they have for this disease. Jovan Belcher’s case was one of the worst. Belcher was a standout linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs. On December 1, 2012 he shot and killed his girlfriend. Belcher then drove to the Chiefs training facility where he shot and killed himself in front of the general manager and head coach. His autopsy had revealed that he had CTE at the age of 25. (“NFL”, 2015). Some star NFL players have also suffered from CTE: Junior Seau died at the age 43, Dave Duerson died at age 50, Andre Waters died at age 44, Chris Henry died at the age of 26, Ray Easterling died at 62. (“The NF.L.s”, 2014). These cases all have two things in common, each player had CTE and each of them committed suicide. There are 82 more cases, just like these, from NFL

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

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

It wasn’t until Dr. McKee and other researchers presented evidence of CTE in football players during a congressional hearing with the U.S. House of Representatives, in 2009, that the NFL changed its approach to addressing these findings. Later that year, during an interview with The New York Times, NFL Spokesman Greg Aiello stated “it’s quite obvious from the medical research that’s been done that concussion can lead to long-term problems.” This was one of the first times the league admitted that concussions and brain injuries had long-term impact on players. Admitting that there was a problem was one of the first steps in overhauling their approach to CTE’s impact on football players. Towards the end of that year, there was a shake up

The epidemic of CTE became evident to the public after Mike Webster, the former Pittsburgh Steelers’s player, sued the NFL claiming his football career destroyed his brain. Four years later, in 2002, Webster died suddenly and he became Patient Zero, after Dr. Omalu performed the autopsy that found CTE. Dr. Bennet Omalu and Dr. Ann McKee made headway with research and found that CTE forms from poisonous protein build up in the brain and causes victims to feel their own livelihood slowly deteriorate (League of Denial). The history of CTE explains that it does not just appear over one jarring occurrence. This protein in the brain tissue builds up after multiple head injuries, also described as a concussion. When football players make a tackle and their bodies collide the brain rattles around in its protecting barrier, the skull. Concussions are very tough to detect because a typical MRI cannot pick up the tearing in the microscopic tissue. Mild traumatic brain injuries show no signs of physical damage to the naked eye. The only factor medical examiners can base their prognosis off of is the state of the athlete presented to them. After a hit the brain deforms, and if shaken hard enough parts of neurons can stretch and even tear. When torn, molecules begin to leak in the brain containing several proteins including tau. With concussion after concussion, the axons in the brain wear down due to excess calcium and a build up of tau forms

Bennet Omalu made concussions a big deal and not just a keeping it in the dark from people and the the players for the NFL. He was the one who discovered Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy AKA(CTE) a disease caused by trauma to the head. He discovered CTE do to the death of Mike Webster. Mike died unexpectedly Dr.Omalu believed it was do to the mood disorders,depression ,drug abuse,destitution and Mike one Attempted suicide do to the depression. Dr.Omalu did a self analyses Mike brain tissue and he found out that Mike suffered from dementia pugilistica which is caused by repeated hits to the head. Dr. Omalu finally discovered CTE after the death of Tony Long he committed suicide in

Jeanne Marie Laskas’s “Concussion” (Random House) is a book about profiling Dr. Bennet Omalu, the forensic pathologist from Nigeria who discovered chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the brain damage develops from concussions and leads the NFL players to have brain trauma, depression and commit suicide. With courage and piousness, he faced many personal battles. Other than the NFL’s allegations against him of being unethical, practicing voodoo, and telling him to retract his scientific paper, Bennet also countered civil war, self-discovery, depression, death, race, belonging, and comparing America to Nigeria.

First, I am going to talk about the science behind concussions, CTE, and why it is such an issue for a football player. Concussions are very damaging to the brain and experiencing a lot of them can lead to CTE. I will also discuss people that influenced the understanding of concussions and CTE. In 2002, a neurologist named Dr. Bennet Omalu tried to tell the NFL about the brain damage he found while doing a former NFL player’s autopsy, but the NFL did not really listen. In 2009, another researcher by the name of Dr. Ann Mckee tried to get the NFL’s attention about her concerns about football players and concussions as well. The NFL once again ignored these assumptions. However, the NFL did listen to Dr. Elliot Pellman, who told the league as early as 1994, that concussions were not a big problem and just part of the game. I will discuss how NFL players were treated when they got their “bell rung” during a big game; and what kind of medical treatment they

Concussion is based on the true story of Dr. Bennet Omalu who first discovered the deadly brain disease known as CTE or Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. When Omalu first discovered CTE in 2002 during an autopsy of Mike Webster, a Hall-of-Fame Steelers' professional, the NFL largely ignored him. They used to attribute this problem with older patients as having Alzheimer's but that was not the case. In fact, the NFL went on full offense to deny the existence of such a disease, and they did their best to discredit Omalu because they did not want to have to pay for it.

former and current NFL players throughout the article "87 Deceased NFL Players Test Positive for Brain Disease". While tested at the nations largest brain bank, " 87 out of 91 former NFL players have tested positive for the brain disease"(Breslow 2).

Ronney Jenkins is a former professional football player that had his career cut short due to a freak accident while he was playing. “He had gotten tackled and landed on his neck and his brain quickly developed CTE.At the tail end of that tackle, Jenkins' neck bent so dramatically that the side of his head appeared, for a split second, to lie flat against his chest. At the same time, his head was being burrowed into the ground. After that hit, Jenkins was unconscious for several seconds. When he woke, his memory of who he was or what he had just been doing had vanished.” (Smith). Patrick Risha, a boy who played football and loved being active everyday he struggled with CTE disease at a young age due to playing football and many hits to the head even though he was wearing a protective helmet. (Zegel) Just like many NFL players he started experiencing CTE symptoms. It started with a short temper then progressively got worse to rage, addiction, memory loss, then unexpectedly died only two days after the birth of his first son. It was a shock to his whole family and they have made a website for chronic traumatic encephalopathy awareness and dedicated it to Patrick in hopes that more people will learn about this disease and maybe find a cure or proper treatment for it. There is a new movie that spreads awareness of the dangers of football; “The new Will Smith movie, Concussion, is based on one of the many books detailing the mountain