Traumatic Encephalopathy: Multiple Concussions In The National Football League

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.

While the NFL is putting new rules and regulations on equipment and which type of tackles are allowed, living retired NFL players are found to already have symptoms of CTE (Fainaru, 2013). Through brain scans and research done by UCLA, they have identified proteins in player’s brains that cause CTE, which as Dr. Julian Bailes, co-director or North Shore Neurological Institute said, is the “holy grail” to studying CTE and finding ways to cure and prevent it (Fainaru, 2013). While this is a break through, there is still no cure or way to treat CTE (Fainaru, 2013). But this research also raises questions about CTE and the NFL. Will players be required to be tested for CTE? Can players be denied playing anymore if CTE is found? Will this greatly affect the way that football is currently played? As the research is still being collected, there is still no definite answer to any of those questions, but the NFL has acknowledged the correlations of CTE and concussions caused by playing in the NFL and assures that they will do all they can to help prevent severe brain trauma to their players, including donating $30 million to the National Institutes of Health to conduct further research on CTE (Kroll, 2013).

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,

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.

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

“Research on this issue is moving at such a fast pace, but each additional piece of scientific data helps inform players about the risks and allows us to make decisions about making the game safer” (Maland). Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy or CTE is one of the top head trauma diseases related to professional American football. CTE is a rare disease found in athletes who have had repetitive brain trauma, this constant strain on the brain triggers a progressive degeneration of the brain tissue or concussions and a buildup of an uncommon protein called tau. Even after the last head trauma the changes to the brain can occur months, years, or decades after (What is CTE). At this point in time there is no cure for CTE, however there are several

After many studies, researchers have found that a tremendous amount of football players will develop a brain disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). This disease is found mostly in athletes who have encountered direct contact to the head. Most of the time, football players will be afflicted with CTE after receiving multiple hits on or near the helmet. Over time, these hits start to affect players in a negative way causing brain trauma, later resulting in CTE. Consequently, CTE has symptoms that are not pleasant and could change players and their families lives forever; some of the symptoms include mood swings and memory loss. CTE also leads to other health afflictions; from the article, Anne McDonnell states, “Brain injuries

Athletes who begin playing contact sports at a younger age are at a greater risk for CTE. CTE has been found in individuals whose primary exposure to head impacts was through tackle football (200+ cases confirmed at the VA-BU-CLF Brain Bank), the military (25+ cases), hockey (20+ cases), boxing (15+ cases, 50+ globally), soccer (5+ cases). New York Times said “Mike Webster, Hall of Fame pro football career was followed by more than a decade of physical and psychological trauma. The cause of his early death was caused by a heart attack. Mike played center for the Pittsburgh Steelers for 15 seasons and 2 seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs. At one time after his career he was homeless, unemployed, and in big dept. IN 1999 Mike was charged with forging 19 prescriptions to obtain concessions. Webster’s doctor’s said that the concussions Mike had in his career had indeed damaged his frontal lobe.”

As CTE appears to be highly prevalent among ex National Football League (NFL) players, Omalu et al. (2005) discussed the autopsy results of an ex NFL player. This particular case was chosen because the autopsy showed neuropathological changes, which were consistent with frequent concussions over a long period of time.

Football has been America’s favorite sport for many years now, but there is no question that football is a dangerous sport. Over the past few years, concussions have become a major issue for the NFL and just for the game of football in general. This is mainly due to the new research and findings of CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy), a brain disease believed to be caused by repeated head trauma such as concussions. The brain of an individual who suffers from CTE gradually deteriorates and will over time end up losing mass (Puiu, 2017). There are four stages of CTE. Stage I of CTE includes headaches and issues related to attention and concentration; In Stage II of CTE, the symptoms expand to include depression, explosivity, and

Traumatic brain injuries can have many effects that vary in both severity and symptoms. CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy is one effect of a TBI. CTE was discovered by Dr. Bennet Omalu. The doctor is a strong voice for change in football. His discoveries have fueled the controversies around the game’s effects. In a CNN article, the authors state “CTE is a progressive degenerative brain disease found in some athletes and others with a history of repetitive brain trauma” (Hanna and Goldschmidt 1). This disease occurs from an excessive accumulation of a protein in the brain tissue. The protein has the ability to restrict proper function of the brain’s neural trails if there is a buildup. When the neural trails are incapacitated, fear, decision-making, and memory become clouded. The disease can only be diagnosed after death. CTE has never been found in a person without a history head injuries. A daunting fact about CTE is once it develops, it continuously grows, and there is no way to stop it.

Some of the major problems discussed in the video is the major brain damage that the players experience in their many years playing professional football. This sever brain damage results to CTE also known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. Lauren claims that CTE is a progressive brain disease that results in violent mood swings, dementia, and severe depression together with delusions (Ezell, Lauren pg.123-178 2015). According to the research by the video, this condition arises as a result of repetitive sub-concussive hits that most NFL players experience.

The NFL needs to create better ways to keep players from getting concussions and eventually possibly getting CTE. Concussions and head injuries have always been a huge problem in sports, especially in football. In football, concussions are second to knee injuries that keep players sidelined. Concussions can change the person affected tremendously. The person may have memory problems, headaches, blurred vision, balance problems, and or vomiting. It is important to identify when someone has a concussion right away, and keep them from participating in any contact activities. “Anyone who has had a concussion shouldn’t return to sports or strenuous activities without a doctor’s permission. Getting a second concussion before the first concussion is healed can cause a condition known as second impact syndrome, which can increase the chances of severe brain swelling and may be fatal (Luo)”.

There are many people who agree that the NFL, to the best of their ability, is upholding the safety of their players when it comes to concussions, while there are others who blatantly disagree. Certain people are affected by this issue such as doctors, the National Football league, retired and current players, coaches, and the family of the players. Doctors as a whole feel that the NFL should invest in specialized helmets to prevent serious concussions. Multiple players have retired and their life has been very rocky. One retired player, Ted Johnson has had multiple seizures in the last year and he is also starting to lose his memory of day to day events. Another player, Mike Webster