When a person develops CTE it causes the buildup of a the Tau protein in the brain ("What is CTE?", 2017). Thes protein clumps within the brain cause those areas with to experience brain cell death. These areas of dead cells can cause many different cognitive problems for the patients. Patients with CTE may experience problems with memory, impulsive or erratic behavior, impaired judgment and extreme aggression or depression ("What is CTE?"| Brain Research Institute, 2017). A typical CTE patient will exhibit a combination of these problems.
Currently the only way to diagnosis CTE is after a patient believed to have the diseases has died. The brain is sliced and chemicals are used to look for Tau protein build up ("What is CTE?", 2017). Testing for the disease is not a normal part of an autopsy and is normally only performed on patients who have shown symptoms of having the disease.
Evidence of CTE has been found in many former NFL players as well. Recently a study was conducted by neuropathologist, Dr. Ann McKee, found that out of 202 brains from former football players 111 of them showed evidence of CTE (Ward, Williams & Manchester, 2017). Out of these 111 brains with evidence of CTE, 110 of them were former NFL players. The results of this study have indicated that there is a potential correlation between playing football and enduring repeated head impacts and developing CTE. Since the results of Dr. McKee's study have been published, the NFL has acknowledged the link between football and CTE and have started to encourage safer tackling methods and even promoting the play of flag football rather than tackle football (Ward, Williams & Manchester, 2017).
References:
Ward, J., Williams, J., & Manchester, S. (2017). 111 N.F.L. Brains. All But One Had C.T.E.. Nytimes.com. Retrieved 5 October 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/07/25/sports/football/nfl-cte.html?mcubz=3&_r=0
What is CTE?. (2017). Concussion Legacy Foundation. Retrieved 5 October 2017, from https://concussionfoundation.org/CTE-resources/what-is-CTE
What Is CTE? | Brain Injury Research Institute. (2017). Protectthebrain.org. Retrieved 5 October 2017, from http://www.protectthebrain.org/Brain-Injury-Research/What-is-CTE-.aspx
This a very interesting post on Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. It initially made me think of the movie Concussion starring Will Smith. After watching the movie, I had the curiosity of researching CTE and like you mentioned in your post, the only way to diagnosis a patient with CTE is post mortem. In an article that I ran into a few weeks ago, researchers tested CTE on rats. They grouped rats according to severity who also showed higher levels of brain P-tau. They observed that rats with higher levels of P-tau were deficit in motor functions, balance, decrease in strength, and exploratory behavior. People with CTE may also display similar deficits before death. Therefore, these researchers indicate that this model can help in indicating CTE-related brain pathology instead of after post-mortem. This would be great step in diagnosis CTE antemortem.
ReplyDeleteYour research also made me think of the sport of MMA and boxing and how it relates to CTE. Since they don’t wear helmets during fights, they may develop these symptoms and develop CTE much faster. However, this is only my assumption. Great post!
Here is the article in case you are interested.
Thomsen, G. M., Ko, A., Harada, M. Y., Ma, A., Wyss, L., Haro, P., & ... Ley, E. J. (2017). Clinical correlates to assist with chronic traumatic encephalopathy diagnosis: Insights from a novel rodent repeat concussion model. The Journal Of Trauma And Acute Care Surgery, 82(6), 1039-1048. doi:10.1097/TA.0000000000001443
After reading this post, my immediate thought in relation to CTE was the movie “Concussion” as well. In the movie, the disease was hidden until a forensic pathologist named Dr. Bennet Omalu discovered evidences revealing CTE among the dead of retired NFL players. My question is, why can’t we diagnose this disease without having to slice the brain? Based on my research, there was not a definitive technique to prove or diagnose CTE in a living person, and the disease was relatively new as the first diagnosis of CTE was in 2002 (Hruby, 2017). Recently, PET scans have been utilized to target the Tau protein with the use of radioactive tracer in helping with the diagnosis of CTE in a living person (Hruby, 2017). As technologies improve and more evidences are available, I believe there will be a primary method to detect and diagnose CTE in a living person. In addition, I really enjoyed reading this blog!
ReplyDeleteHruby, P. (2017). The Future of Detecting Brain Damage in Football. The Atlantic Daily. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/09/football-brain-injury-chronic-traumatic-encephalopathy/540459/