Essay On Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy

Concussions can truly mess with an athlete’s brain and can give him or her lifelong troubles.

“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

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a type of injury that is a critical public health and socio-economic problem. TBI is a leading cause of death and disability in both children and adults [5]. The Centers for Disease Control and

Concussions are complex cerebral injuries that result in a series of metabolic events within the brain. The changes are seen in the fragile neuronal homeostatic balances where changes in the elevations of glutamate and potassium have been identified. The effects of concussions have also been seen in the functioning of the brain rather than in the structure of the brain itself. Being identified as mild traumatic brain injuries, occurring due to a bump or jolt to head or neck, concussions can result in both short-term and long-term effects. Although most individuals are able to recover from these head injuries, a small but relevant portion of individuals have been found to suffer from chronic long-term effects including early onsets of Alzheimer disease, clinical depression and other cognitive complications. The occurrence of a secondary concussion during the recovery phase of a primary concussion, also recognized as the second impact syndrome, has been shown to increase the risk for long-term effects of cerebral and neurological failure as the neurons have become incapable of experiencing normal functions after an initial traumatic brain injury. The recoveries from these initial concussions are critical to prevent the onset of long-term effects.

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.

In 2012, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) referred to this concussion crisis as an epidemic. As previous stated, repeated head trauma, such as suffering multiple concussions, is thought to be one of the main predisposing risk factors for developing CTE. Although it is unlikely that one concussion will develop into CTE, research is still be conducted on the amount and severity of a concussion that is required for a player to develop CTE. In published data that looked at the correlation between concussions and CTE, it was found that 84 % of participants with CTE had suffered at least one concussion in his lifetime. Majority of these players suffered more than 15 reported concussions during their lifetime and had over 15 years experience playing football. This evidence is sufficient enough to suggest that concussions are a contributing factor to developing CTE (Stein, Alvarez, & McKee,

Signs such as memory disturbances, behavioral and personality changes, parkinsonism, language, and gait abnormalities are just some of the few consequences people have to live with who are affected with CTE.1,5 The condition is characteristic of atrophy associated with medial and temporal lobes, ventricle dilation, and widespread tau-immunoreactive pathology. Evidence all points that repetitive traumatic brain injuries lead to CTE before any clinical manifestations arise.1 By instituting proper head protection, as well as safer return to play guidelines after head injury, CTE can be dramatically reduced in athletes all around the world. In more drastic approaches, certain high impact sports can be eliminated as a whole in order to greatly reduce CTE in athletes. There is no cure, no treatment options, and no tests available yet to diagnosis this disease. Experts urge that the best preventative to CTE is to avoid all contact sports in altogether, something that millions fail to

The media and fans fostered a heightened awareness for sport concussion as they learned of high-profile professional athletes who attributed their retirements to repetitive concussions. Additionally, postconcussion syndrome was identified in players who retired for other reasons in the months and years after their injuries. As a result, the current research concerned with the identification, management, and long-term effects of concussion is adding new and exciting information to the professional body of knowledge required to reduce the risk of injury.” (Cerebral Concussion: Causes, Effects, and Risks in

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.

Concussions are and will continue to be an ongoing issue in almost all sports today. This is especially true in the case of football and the NFL. Concussions are considered the most common and least devastating form of traumatic brain injury someone can receive. Although concussions are considered the least serious type of brain injury they can still lead to and cause many irreversible brain diseases and in some cases people have even lost their lives because of concussions. One of these diseases is called chronic traumatic encephalopathy or better known as CTE. There have been many recent medical developments that have allowed us to learn more about the brain and things that affect it. This increased knowledge has caused unrest

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

Brain trauma can cause a build -up of abnormal types of protein called tau, which slowly kills brain cells. Once started, these changes in the brain appear to continue and

A recent study of college football players has shown that those who participate in high contact sports and have had a concussion before have a 300% higher chance of having another one in comparison to athletes that have never had a concussion before (Jolicoeur et al, 2007). The NFL and NCAA have enacted several rule changes in order to minimize the occurrence of concussions. These new rules, like many before them, have come under the scrutiny of the very athletes that they were meant to protect. The NHL and NHL Players Association in 1997 together created a program in order to get a better understanding of concussions and how to prevent them (Burke et al, 2011). According to Covassin (2008), athletes who have had more than one concussion take a longer time to recover with each concussion that they suffer from.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI), or intracranial injury, is a medical diagnosis which refers to closed or penetrative damage to the brain that is caused by an external source. Every year, TBIs affect approximately 150-250 people in a population of 100,000 (León-Carrión, Domínguez-Morales, Martín, & Murillo-Cabezas, 2005). The leading causes of TBI are traffic accidents, work injuries, sports injuries, and extreme violence (León-Carrión et al., 2005). TBI is most often fatal when the cause is an injury due to the use of firearms, a traffic accident, or a long fall (León-Carrión et al., 2005). However, fatality rates and rates of occurrence differ in various countries due to

Traumatic Brain Injury is otherwise known as TBI. “Traumatic brain injury, a form of acquired brain injury, occurs when sudden trauma causes damage to the brain. TBI can result when the head suddenly and violently hits an object, or when an object pierces the skull and enters brain tissue” (NINDS, 2010). There are two main types of TBI, closed head injuries such as head hitting a windshield and penetrating head injuries such as a gunshot wound. As reported by the Global Neuroscience Initiative Foundation,” The severity of traumatic brain injuries is often assessed using the Glasgow Coma Scale, with scores ranging from 3 to 15. The higher the score,