What Exactly is CTE?

In my last blog post, I talked a lot about Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), however I did not fully explain what CTE exactly is. Although the TedEd video touched briefly on CTE as well, I thought that it was necessary to include a post that explains CTE so we can fully understand the danger with concussions and subconcussive trauma.


Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)

Ann Mckee, MD, Boston Healthcare. Dr. McKee was the leading physician in the 

research regarding football players who were believed to hold symptoms of CTE.

CTE is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that was found in 90% of football players who were concerned they had CTE. CTE is typically the result of repeated head trauma, which causes a build up of Tau protein within the brain. Tau protein slowly kills portions of the brain, which prevents those areas from functioning property. The effects of CTE may not show up until later on in life, even after the athletes retire. These symptoms can appear as depression, aggression, personality changes, dementia, Alzheimer's, ALS, and Parkinson's. The most unfortunate part of CTE is the fact that many who suffer from it begin showing symptoms early in life, such as their 30s and 40s, but they cannot be diagnosed until an autopsy is completed after they pass away as it does not appear on any MRI, Cat Scan or any other screening tool.


In this table, it shows the specifics to what causes CTE and head trauma in particular activities.

What is CTE? Concussion Foundation (https://concussionfoundation.org/CTE-resources/what-is-CTE)

Below is a video published by CNN, which describes CTE is, the research that has been done and what needs to be the next steps in research of the brain and CTE.

 

CTE found in 99%  of studied brains from Deceased NFL players 

(https://www.cnn.com/2017/07/25/health/cte-nfl-players-brains-study/index.html)