What is CTE and what are its impacts?
CTE has become a common term nowadays when discussing contact sports, such as football or boxing, but what is it? CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, is a neurodegenerative disease that results from recurring head trauma (1). CTE is a relatively new disease, only being diagnosed in football players 15 years ago. While CTE has been observed in boxing since the 1920s, scientists only knew simple information about the disease. With such a small basis of research on CTE, neurologists have yet to find a way to diagnose patients while they are alive. Doctors currently need to dissect the brain following death to diagnose CTE. So, what do we know about CTE and its effects?
Shown here is the effect of CTE on the brain. While not much is known about what causes the shrinkage, the function of the brain is severely affected.
CTE is a neurodegenerative disease that is caused by numerous concussive hits to the head, mostly of which are sustained in sports. Athletes who develop CTE are often not aware that they have CTE and lack the knowledge of its consequences. Because of the slow onset of the disease, many athletes in contact-heavy sports will continue to play which worsens their condition. There is no set number of concussions or years of play that determine whether or not someone develops CTE, but in a recent study of 2,000 NFL players, researchers confirmed 1 in 3 had CTE (2). This study demonstrates that the high amount of brain trauma that these players experience leads to the development of CTE. The symptoms of CTE differ from person-to-person because every individual’s brain is unique. However, there are several parallels between CTE and other neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. The biggest differences between these diseases are their causes and the age of onset. In patients with CTE, most of them exhibit symptoms that might include confusion, movement issues, and behavior shifts, all of which could present themselves in the patients in their 40s. That is nearly 20 years before the average onset of Alzheimers (1). While CTE is often a result of sports which are played from a young age, Alzheimer’s is specifically related to aging. Some symptoms of CTE are similar to those of Alzheimer’s, including memory loss, mood swings, and difficulty concentrating. However, many symptoms are unique to CTE, such as aggression, depression, and personality changes. Scientists know so little about this disease and how it affects humans’ most unknown organ that the symptoms of CTE are highly debated, yet those listed are some of the most likely to show up.
Big hits can lead to concussions which can add up to developing CTE later on.
Unfortunately not enough is known about CTE to diagnose it prior to death, much less a cure for it. While neuroscientists are researching this elusive disease, there are ways to lessen head trauma in sports. New and advanced helmets can absorb much more force, leading to less head trauma in these violent environments. Impact testing, such as the tests required by the BB&N Athletic Department, can be used to mitigate head trauma (3). Learning about the causes and consequences of CTE is vital to preserving the lives of millions of athletes.
Sources:
- Mayo Clinic (2023, November 18). “Chronic traumatic encephalopathy” Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/chronic-traumatic-encephalopathysymptoms-causes/syc-20370921
- Mass General Brigham (2024, September 23,) “Study of Former NFL Players Finds 1 in 3 Believe They Have CTE | Mass General Brigham.” Retrieved from https://www.massgeneralbrigham.org/en/about/newsroom/press-releases/study-finds-1-in-3-former-nfl-players-believe-they-have-cte#:~:text=A%20new%20study%20of%20nearly,mortem%20e.
- Reynolds, S (2023, July 11) “How football raises the risk for chronic traumatic encephalopathy” Retrieved from https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/how-football-raises-risk-chronic-traumatic-encephalopathy
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