Negative Effects Of 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

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.

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,

My example earlier Aaron Hernandez suffered from CTE according to Dr. Ann McKee of Boston University which brings me to my next point. The physical effects of concussions

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

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.

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

Of the 1,696 players, 271 players suffered a concussion through the first day of practice to the Super Bowl. That is roughly twelve percent of NFL players suffering a concussion in this latest season. In all of the articles researched, the authors have mentioned CTE, which has been stated as a fact after multiple traumatic brain injuries. With the mentions of CTE addresses the suicides of Junior Seau, Frank Gifford, and many other players who played back in the time with less rules and notifications of players having head and neck injuries.

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

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

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 acronym CTE stands for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy which is a continuous disease that inflicts the brain of athletes who suffered ongoing concussions and traumatic brain injuries. This disease was known to affect boxers, however, recent reports published that CTE exists in retired football players and other athletes who have a history of repetitive brain trauma. CTE triggers degeneration of brain tissue and can begin in months, years, or even decades. The symptoms of this disease is usually memory loss, impaired judgement, depression, confusion and impulse control problems.

CTE has a large influence on football players that get a lot of concussions later on in life. “The condition known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy was formerly believed to exist primarily among boxers, and was referred to as dementia pugilistica. It is a progressive degenerative disease which afflicts the brain of people who have suffered repeated concussions and traumatic

Over the past several years, concussions and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) have become hot topics in the world of football. The long lasting effects of concussions and CTE experienced