Research Paper

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.

Lately there have been many retired football players have been diagnosed with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy(CTE) which is a disease that destroys the neurons of the brain and is traced back to concussions. The neurons send signals through microtubules in the axon which is held together by the protein tau. When trauma occurs to the brain the tau protein may be separated from the microtubules making them unable to let signals pass through. According to the Sports Legacy Institute CTE may create permanent memory loss, confusion, paranoia, aggression, depression, and eventually dementia. On August of 2013 4,500 players started a lawsuit against the NFL, within weeks the number of former plays increased to 12,000 and they received a 765 million dollar settlement for compensation and pay for medical exams for people those are eligible.

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.

CTE occurs when there is a “build up of tau, a protein that spills out of cells due to blunt forced trauma.” (FORBES) This build up of tau can disable neural pathways in the brain that control things like memory, judgment, and fear. (FORBES) CTE has also been linked to Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, dementia and ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). CTE was discovered in 2002 by Bennet Omalu a forensic pathologist. The first player to be diagnosed with CTE was Mike Webster, a former center for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Webster died in 2002 from a heart attack. However, during his autopsy his brain showed severe damage which then became known as CTE. Ultimately, doctors believe that Webster’s death could have been a result of the CTE that they found. (coll.) According to Boston University and the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs’ study, 87 out of 91 former NFL athletes have tested positive for the brain disease, CTE. It is important to note that this study was also performed on former high school and college athletes and the results were similar. Therefore, the danger of concussions is not just within the spectrum of the NFL.

As a result former football players are experiencing health issues. Sports news headlines have been abundant with stories concerning former NFL players currently suffering from headaches, loss of memory, dementia, and early Alzheimer’s (Ellenbogen, 2010;Neumann, 2011). Even though the devastation of concussions is just beginning to rise to the surface, they have always been around. There appear to be several recent cases involving former and current NFL players committing suicide that was influenced by some of the suffering due to medical maladies associated with playing football (Amen, 2011). Many skeptics of football related concussions have indicated such health issues are coincidental and people commit suicide for different reasons; or that early Alzheimer’s as well as dementia are known to develop with age (Casson, 2010). Recently attention has been given to the fact that there may be a link between various cases (Nowinski, 2006). Consequently, each of these players associated with these stories all sustained repeated concussions while playing football. Although several of these concussions were documented, players were forced to sit out for a few plays; however, others were not documented, and because the game was close, were asked to stay on the

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy effects over 1.2 million professional athletes every season from the pop warner leagues to the professional leagues. There are several ways to get a concussion. The most common way to get a concussion is through the engagement in sports, and sports-related activities. Other common ways are car accidents, motorcycle accidents, falls from a big playground obstacle, and more. The symptoms of a concussion can last for various intervals of time, most concussions that occur as a result of full blown hit to an athlete last for months and years. The ignorance of not knowing what a concussion is, results in the death of various prominent athletes in the professional league. Athletes such as : Owen Thomas , Mike Borich , Junior Seau , John Mackey , John Grimsley , Lou Creekmur , Ray Easterling , Dave Duerson all committed suicide due to concussion trauma and injuries.

“CTE, stands for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in people with a history of repetitive brain trauma (often athletes), including symptomatic concussions as well as asymptomatic subconcussive hits to the head that do not cause symptoms,” says a CTE research center. It is a disease that can only be diagnosed after-death. The symptoms of CTE occur after a few years of playing football and getting multiple concussions due to hits to the head. symptoms include unusual behavior, change in attitude, suicidal thoughts, and death. It comes down to whether or not, you feel the risks to be too

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 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.

It is the moment football fans live for: the running back brakes through the line and heads up the field only to be sacked moments later. In the time it takes for the crowd to stand and cheer, the running back has forgotten where he is. His struggle to remember the four words he was just given on the sidelines increases every moment. His obvious concussion will keep him from playing for a few weeks but then he will be as good as new and ready to play again, right? But what about the long term affects of his concussion? When Mike Webster died at the age of 50 in 2002 from heart failure, his autopsy showed more than just a heart condition. Dr. Omalu, from the University of Pittsburgh found chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE, which shows atrophy to the brain similar to Alzheimer 's. CTE is a progress degenerative brain disease said to be caused by repetitive brain trauma, such as hard hits in football (Tanaka and Wells). Dr. Omalu 's discovery of CTE has brought up many questions including what is CTE and what are its effects, and did the NFL know about the possibility of CTE and why do they keep denying its existence. Because of Omalu 's discovery CTE and the NFL are in the limelight as players past and present worry if they are at risk. As more and more people learn about CTE, the level of urgency to find answers to these questions rises. In response, the NFL and other companies are backing research in hopes of finding ways to prevent and cure CTE, all while learning

Concussions have caused many problems for retired NFL players. Some have gone into depression and committed suicide. In a study of 34 NFL players , about 25% suffered from clinical depression. Junior Seau was found dead in his house at 43, after he shot himself. After looking at the body they found that Seau had CTE, a horrible disease that badly affects your brain. Ex-Lions quarterback Eric Kramer shot himself in the head 2 years ago, he played 12 seasons in the NFL. Mike Webster played 16 years in the NFL and was found dead in his car under the highway. He had died of

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

That is when the first person had to retire due to post concussion syndrome. His name was Al Toon and played for the New York Jets. After he retired, some others started to retire because of the same post concussion syndrome. This made Paul Taglibaue create a committee called the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee in 1994. In 2002, Dr. Omalu had identified the first CTE in the brain of Mike Webster, who was a football player. “Omalu was the first doctor to identify CTE in a football player, “ (Library, 2016). Then in 2005 and 2006, Omalu had identified CTE in more football players. Once this started to happen more frequently in 2007 the NFL came up with new guidelines based on these concussions. In 2010, Goodell, the commissioner at the time, told all teams that there were going to be suspensions to people who violate playing rules that put the safety of others at risk. This was mainly about the hits that are taken to the head and neck. In 2014 alone, 14 players sue the NFL over these concussions. “In 2015 the judge lets the agreement of 5 million dollars per retired player for serious medical conditions associated with repeated head trauma.”(Library,2016). Through out these years many suicides happened due to CTE, such as Terry Long, Andre Waters, Dave Duerson, Ray Easterling, Junior Seau, Belcher, and Freel. These are only some, but there are many others who have given up their life because of the head trauma they got by playing football. The NFL

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,