First Case of CTE Confirmed in Living Patient: Former NFL Star Fred McNeill Dies at 30
7 years, 4 months ago

First Case of CTE Confirmed in Living Patient: Former NFL Star Fred McNeill Dies at 30

CNN  

Researchers have confirmed the first case of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in a living patient. The case involves former NFL player Fred McNeill, who died in 2015. The disease was diagnosed using a radioactive tracer called FDDNP, which binds to tau proteins in the brain. McNeill's symptoms included memory loss, anger, and depression, which are characteristic symptoms of CTE. The study is significant because it provides further evidence of CTE being a neurodegenerative disease caused by repeated head injuries. It also highlights the challenges of diagnosing CTE in living patients, as the disease can manifest differently in different individuals.

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History of this topic

Researchers confirm ‘Music City Miracle’ star Frank Wycheck had CTE
2 months, 2 weeks ago

Researchers confirm ‘Music City Miracle’ star Frank Wycheck had CTE

Associated Press  

Frank Wycheck, the NFL tight end best known for throwing the lateral that started the “Music City Miracle” and launched the Tennessee Titans’ run to the franchise’s lone Super Bowl appearance, had stage III chronic traumatic encelphalopathy when he died on Dec. 9, 2023, at his Chattanooga home, his family said Thursday. Researchers at Boston University’s Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center …

A third of former NFL players surveyed believe they have CTE, researchers find
6 months ago

A third of former NFL players surveyed believe they have CTE, researchers find

NPR  

A third of former NFL players surveyed believe they have CTE, researchers find toggle caption Jamie Squire/Getty Images One-third of former professional football players reported in a new survey that they believe they have the degenerative brain disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. The research, published Monday in the medical journal JAMA Neurology, represents one of the broadest …

Will OJ Simpson's family donate his brain for CTE research? Fatal brain disease explained
11 months, 2 weeks ago

Will OJ Simpson's family donate his brain for CTE research? Fatal brain disease explained

Hindustan Times  

Following OJ Simpson's death due to prostate cancer, social media users and his fans called for the NFL star's brain to be examined for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy or CTE. "'In all seriousness I really hope OJ Simpson's family has his brain checked for signs of CTE, out of respect for the Brown and Goldman families, even for his own kids," …

Stephen Colbert Takes A Serious Swipe At The NFL On Its Biggest Night
1 year, 1 month ago

Stephen Colbert Takes A Serious Swipe At The NFL On Its Biggest Night

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING Stephen Colbert offered a mostly goofy monologue on “The Late Show” after the Super Bowl but launched one barb that the NFL might not appreciate. Noting that some tickets hit the $100,000 price tag, he said, “That’s a lot, but of course the memories will last a lifetime ― unless you’re one of the players.” Skewering the …

CTE Awareness Day 2024: Symptoms, causes and treatment of this rare brain disorder
1 year, 1 month ago

CTE Awareness Day 2024: Symptoms, causes and treatment of this rare brain disorder

India TV News  

CTE Awareness Day 2024: Symptoms, causes and treatment of this rare brain disorder CTE is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects the brain's functionality. On CTE Awareness Day, unveil symptoms, causes, and treatment for this rare brain disorder. CTE is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects individuals who have experienced repeated head trauma, often through sports concussions or other forms …

Experts in concussion, NFL leaders gather to identify gaps in knowledge, offer guidelines on preventing brain injuries
1 year, 3 months ago

Experts in concussion, NFL leaders gather to identify gaps in knowledge, offer guidelines on preventing brain injuries

CNN  

CNN — With growing attention on traumatic brain injury and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, known as CTE, in sports, clinicians and researchers from across the country, including doctors from the NFL, are offering guidance on how to prevent further harm in athletes. Experts in athletic brain injury and long-term cognitive disorders gathered at a summit Friday at the Cantu Concussion Center …

‘A living hell inside of my head’: For first time, more advanced stage of CTE diagnosed in teen football player
1 year, 4 months ago

‘A living hell inside of my head’: For first time, more advanced stage of CTE diagnosed in teen football player

CNN  

CNN — In July 2019, just months after graduating from high school, 18-year-old Wyatt Bramwell took his own life. In Wyatt’s brain, researchers discovered the first case of stage 2 CTE to be diagnosed in a high school football player, according to Dr. Ann McKee, director of the Boston University CTE Center, who diagnosed Wyatt. “I hope this inspires further …

Serious Brain Trauma Starts Well Before Young Athletes Go Pro
1 year, 6 months ago

Serious Brain Trauma Starts Well Before Young Athletes Go Pro

Wired  

Content warning: This story includes references to death by suicide. One query popped out: “CTE.” CTE stands for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a neurodegenerative brain disease that causes symptoms like memory loss, depression, and emotional dysregulation. Given the NFL-centered media coverage throughout the mid-aughts, “people have this impression that CTE is a disease of former NFL players,” says Julie Stamm, a …

Inside the brain of a suspected CTE patient, 3D scans show impact of repeated head knocks
1 year, 8 months ago

Inside the brain of a suspected CTE patient, 3D scans show impact of repeated head knocks

ABC  

Gordi Kirkbank-Ellis's sporting life was littered with heavy knocks to the head. Dr Mobbs says she currently sees over 100 patients like Kirkbank-Ellis, many who played contact sports like football or boxing for years, served in the military, or were victims of domestic violence. "​The reason people have been criticised in the past is that CTE has got a lot …

What is CTE? Here's what we know about chronic traumatic encephalopathy
1 year, 8 months ago

What is CTE? Here's what we know about chronic traumatic encephalopathy

ABC  

The first known professional female athlete has posthumously been diagnosed with CTE. Now the Australian Sports Brain Bank, which specialises in researching diseases associated with repeated head injuries, has confirmed she had "low-stage CTE" in her brain. "It is important to know that not everyone who experiences repeated mild traumatic brain injuries will develop CTE," the research body says. The …

Former NFL star, CBS anchor Irv Cross had brain disease CTE
2 years ago

Former NFL star, CBS anchor Irv Cross had brain disease CTE

The Independent  

Get Nadine White's Race Report newsletter for a fresh perspective on the week's news Get our free newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent Get our free newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “He was afraid someone would ask him a question,” Cross said, “and …

New report demonstrates causal link between head impacts and CTE for first time
2 years, 8 months ago

New report demonstrates causal link between head impacts and CTE for first time

New York Times  

A new report has demonstrated a causal link between repetitive head impacts and chronic traumatic encephalopathy for the first time. The research, carried out by Harvard University, Oxford Brookes University and 11 other academic institutions, alongside analysis from the Concussion Legacy Foundation, has found “conclusive evidence” that the progressive brain disease can be linked to sub-concussive blows such as heading. …

Phillip Adams: Ex-NFL player had ‘CTE similar to Aaron Hernandez’ when he shot six and turned gun on himself
3 years, 2 months ago

Phillip Adams: Ex-NFL player had ‘CTE similar to Aaron Hernandez’ when he shot six and turned gun on himself

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Doctors say ex-NFL player …

New research provides further evidence Dave Watson has CTE, say family
3 years, 3 months ago

New research provides further evidence Dave Watson has CTE, say family

The Independent  

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for free Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The family of former England captain Dave Watson …

Op-Ed: 5 steps to protect football players’ brains and keep the sport alive
3 years, 6 months ago

Op-Ed: 5 steps to protect football players’ brains and keep the sport alive

LA Times  

Helmet technology is improving, but football players are also bigger than ever and colliding with more force. Having represented professional athletes since 1975, I’ve been worrying about football players’ health since long before the first diagnosis of chronic traumatic encephalopathy in a former NFL player, in 2002. The best way to keep football alive is to ensure standardized safety protocols …

Danny Frawley was suffering from concussion-linked brain condition at time of death, AFL thanks family for allowing research
4 years, 6 months ago

Danny Frawley was suffering from concussion-linked brain condition at time of death, AFL thanks family for allowing research

ABC  

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan has thanked the Frawley family for allowing researchers to assess the late Danny's brain, discovering in the process he was suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy at the time of his sudden death. Key points: Danny Frawley's wife says she wanted to speak about his CTE before the coroner's report was released to help others CTE …

NFL stars' risk of CTE soars by a THIRD every year they play
5 years, 5 months ago

NFL stars' risk of CTE soars by a THIRD every year they play

Daily Mail  

An NFL star's risk of developing the degenerative brain disease CTE goes up by a third every year they play, a study has suggested. Former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez, who played as a tight end, had CTE when he killed himself two years ago at the age of 27 while serving a life sentence for murder But as …

Football players with CTE increase their dementia risk every extra year they play, study finds
5 years, 7 months ago

Football players with CTE increase their dementia risk every extra year they play, study finds

Daily Mail  

A football player's risk of developing dementia after being diagnosed with a brain disorder goes up with every year played, a new study finds. But the team, from Boston University, found that more years spent playing football resulted in density loss of white matter, the tissue through which messages pass within the central nervous system. A new study of football …

Brain scans may reveal signs of CTE in living NFL players
5 years, 11 months ago

Brain scans may reveal signs of CTE in living NFL players

Daily Mail  

Brain scans could show if former athletes who suffer blows to the head during their career have a degenerative disease before they die, scientists say. Researchers conducted scans of former NFL players who were having mood and thinking problems and found they had higher levels of an abnormal brain protein. This image shows an illustration based on brain scans from …

Expert cautions that the NFL's 24% concussion drop won't help prevent degenerative brain disease CTE
6 years, 1 month ago

Expert cautions that the NFL's 24% concussion drop won't help prevent degenerative brain disease CTE

Daily Mail  

He explained that there is no proven correlation between CTE and concussions Lee E. Goldstein, MD, PhD, an associate professor at Boston University School of Medicine and College of Engineering said the findings are misleading The NFL's recent announcement that concussions fell 24 percent in 2018 may be encouraging, but Boston University associate professor Lee E. Goldstein told DailyMail.com that …

Study finds at least 10% of NFL players could develop CTE
6 years, 3 months ago

Study finds at least 10% of NFL players could develop CTE

LA Times  

At least 10% of NFL players could develop chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the devastating neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated head trauma, according to a study published this week in the journal Neurology. Their work built on a study published last year that found signs of CTE in 110 of 111 brains of deceased NFL players examined by a group associated with …

NCAA facing wrongful death lawsuits from the families of former UCLA and USC football players
6 years, 6 months ago

NCAA facing wrongful death lawsuits from the families of former UCLA and USC football players

Daily Mail  

The families of two deceased former college football players have brought wrongful death lawsuits against the NCAA in Los Angeles County Superior Court, and the filings may only be the start of a larger problem for the amateur sports organization. Both former USC fullback Douglas MacKenzie and former UCLA and Long Beach State running back Rodney Stensrud died, their families …

BRAIN INJURIES IN SPORTS: THE FAST FACTS
6 years, 11 months ago

BRAIN INJURIES IN SPORTS: THE FAST FACTS

Daily Mail  

As athletes of all sports speak out about their brain injury fears, we run through the need-to-know facts about risks, symptoms, tests and research. Concussion is a red herring: Big hits are not the problem, ALL head hits cause damage All sports insist they are doing more to prevent concussions in athletes to protect their brain health. Concussions, they found, …

Four ex-NFL players unite to launch largest ever CTE study
7 years ago

Four ex-NFL players unite to launch largest ever CTE study

Daily Mail  

Four former NFL players have joined the largest study to date into the football-linked brain disease CTE that could lead to a test for athletes during their lifetime. The program, launched today, is the passion project of another former player Jim Joyce, who played for the Denver Broncos before founding biotech firm Exosome Sciences to investigate the diseases that afflict …

NFLPA 'health playbook' educate players on CTE
7 years ago

NFLPA 'health playbook' educate players on CTE

Daily Mail  

The NFL Players Association has created a 'health playbook' aimed at educating players on the risks associated with the high-contact sport. The first-ever football medical guide distributed to NFLPA members this week notably includes information about chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a severe brain injury believed to be caused by repeated blows to the head. A study published last summer looked at …

Wife of ex-NFL player Rob Kelly describes his brain damage
7 years, 1 month ago

Wife of ex-NFL player Rob Kelly describes his brain damage

Daily Mail  

The wife of a former NFL player has published a heart-wrenching account of her husband's cognitive decline after a career in tackle football. Emily Kelly's article about her husband Rob, published in the New York Times on Friday just two days before the Super Bowl, is hardly the first mention of a football player developing neurological problems. But since 2007, …

Early Signs of Neurodegenerative Disease Found in Athletes Without Concussions
7 years, 2 months ago

Early Signs of Neurodegenerative Disease Found in Athletes Without Concussions

CNN  

A new study has found that CTE can develop without ever experiencing a concussion. The study evaluated the brains of four deceased athletes, ages 17 and 18 years old, who had died within a day to four months of receiving some sort of sport-related head injury and had a history of playing football. Brain changes detected by 24 hours after …

Former college football player believes he has CTE
7 years, 2 months ago

Former college football player believes he has CTE

Daily Mail  

A former college football player suffering mood swings, depression and memory loss believes he has the degenerative brain condition CTE after 15 years of blows to the head left him with countless concussions. Extensive research has shown the damaging effects the condition can have on the brain in professional football players, however the game's impact on players at the high …

FA and PFA commission new study into risk of dementia from playing football
7 years, 4 months ago

FA and PFA commission new study into risk of dementia from playing football

The Independent  

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for free Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The new study, which is titled "Football's Influence on Lifelong Health and …

The More We Learn About CTE, The Harder It Is For Football To Stay The Same
7 years, 5 months ago

The More We Learn About CTE, The Harder It Is For Football To Stay The Same

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING The lawyer for Aaron Hernandez is suing the National Football League after an autopsy found that the 27-year-old player, who died by suicide after being convicted of murder, had a brain disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy. “They have different environmental factors that can come into play.” What researchers do know, Cherry said, is that CTE doesn’t require …

Scientists may have found a way to diagnose CTE in football players while they’re still alive
7 years, 6 months ago

Scientists may have found a way to diagnose CTE in football players while they’re still alive

LA Times  

It is a humbling but very motivating fact that a person currently has to die before doctors can make a diagnosis of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the degenerative brain disease that afflicts many professional football players and other athletes who have sustained repeated blows to the head. On Tuesday, the Boston-based researchers who have pioneered the identification of CTE in contact-sport …

Can brain disease explain Aaron Hernandez’s behavior?
7 years, 6 months ago

Can brain disease explain Aaron Hernandez’s behavior?

Associated Press  

CHICAGO — Former football star Aaron Hernandez’ brain was riddled with damage from a degenerative brain disease linked with head blows, but that doesn’t necessarily explain the troubles that plagued his young life. Dr. Ann McKee announced Thursday she found evidence of severe chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, in Hernandez’ brain. Most donated brains from former college players studied also …

Disgraced ex-Patriots player Aaron Hernandez found to have CTE and early brain atrophy
7 years, 6 months ago

Disgraced ex-Patriots player Aaron Hernandez found to have CTE and early brain atrophy

LA Times  

Five months after Aaron Hernandez hanged himself in a prison cell with a bedsheet while serving a life sentence for first-degree murder, the former New England Patriots tight end has been diagnosed with severe chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Hernandez, who died at age 27, is one of the youngest former NFL players found to have the devastating disease linked to repeated …

Faces of Concussions: Football families share lives with CTE
7 years, 7 months ago

Faces of Concussions: Football families share lives with CTE

Associated Press  

Jim Hudson’s wife came home one day and found him sitting on a couch, clutching a golf ball, with tears streaming down his face. “My first instinct is: ‘Why is this Chris Nowinski trying to take football away from us?’” she said. “Mom took out old rosters, putting two and two together: ‘He was diagnosed with dementia; he was diagnosed …

NFL cuts ties with NIH concussion study
7 years, 7 months ago

NFL cuts ties with NIH concussion study

Daily Mail  

The NFL has cut ties with the National Institutes of Health study into concussion after years of feuding over critical researchers. And this week, just days before the NFL and NIH announced the end of their partnership, Dr Stern's research team published an explosive report, revealing 110 out of 111 deceased NFL players had signs of CTE in post-mortem examinations. …

Brain disease seen in most football players in large report
7 years, 8 months ago

Brain disease seen in most football players in large report

Associated Press  

CHICAGO — Research on 202 former football players found evidence of a brain disease linked to repeated head blows in nearly all of them, from athletes in the National Football League, college and even high school. The report doesn’t confirm that the condition is common in all football players; it reflects high occurrence in samples at a Boston brain bank …

Brain disease seen in most football players in large report
7 years, 8 months ago

Brain disease seen in most football players in large report

Associated Press  

CHICAGO — Research on 202 former football players found evidence of a brain disease linked to repeated head blows in nearly all of them, from athletes in the National Football League, college and even high school. The report doesn’t confirm that the condition is common in all football players; it reflects high occurrence in samples at a Boston brain bank …

Brain disease seen in most football players in large report
7 years, 8 months ago

Brain disease seen in most football players in large report

Associated Press  

CHICAGO — Research on 202 former football players found evidence of a brain disease linked to repeated head blows in nearly all of them, from athletes in the National Football League, college and even high school. The report doesn’t confirm that the condition is common in all football players; it reflects high occurrence in samples at a Boston brain bank …

99 Percent Of Studied NFL Brains Diagnosed With CTE, Researchers Say
7 years, 8 months ago

99 Percent Of Studied NFL Brains Diagnosed With CTE, Researchers Say

Huff Post  

A number of the brains studied by doctor Ann McKee and her researchers. BU Photography A new study out of Boston diagnosed a startlingly high percentage of deceased NFL players with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, and the numbers don’t get much better when you move on down to college players. All told, the researchers found 87 percent of the players to …

NFL brain study diagnoses CTE in 99% of ex-players' brains
7 years, 8 months ago

NFL brain study diagnoses CTE in 99% of ex-players' brains

Daily Mail  

The biggest ever study into football brain injuries has diagnosed CTE in 99 percent of former NFL players' brains in post-mortem examinations. More than 1,800 former athletes and military veterans have pledged to donate their brains to the Concussion Legacy Foundation for CTE research. CTE was usually associated with boxing before former NFL players began revealing their conditions. The study …

CTE was nearly ubiquitous among former NFL players who donated their brains to science
7 years, 8 months ago

CTE was nearly ubiquitous among former NFL players who donated their brains to science

LA Times  

The NFL issued a statement saying the league “will continue to work with a wide range of experts to improve the health of current and former NFL athletes.” In a group of more than 100 professional football players whose brains were examined after their death, new research has found that virtually all suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a condition likely …

Most-detailed British study into football's dementia link concludes condition may be related to heading
8 years, 1 month ago

Most-detailed British study into football's dementia link concludes condition may be related to heading

The Independent  

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for free Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The most detailed British research ever undertaken into …

What You Should Know About Concussions
8 years, 3 months ago

What You Should Know About Concussions

Huff Post  

As part of the public discussion —which includes scientific research findings— I have watched the issue of concussions publicized and debated. In addition to all the undiagnosed concussions and sub-concussive hits, it seems that even in the face of an obvious concussion, players may still be unprotected and ill-served. Since the days when chronic traumatic encephalopathy first began appearing the …

For high school football players, just a season of play brings brain changes
8 years, 4 months ago

For high school football players, just a season of play brings brain changes

LA Times  

Without sustaining a single concussion, a North Carolina high school football team showed worrisome brain changes after a single season of play, a new study has shown. A detailed effort to capture the on-field experiences of 24 high school football players showed that, at the end of a single season of play, teammates whose heads sustained the most frequent contact …

NFL vice-president Jeff Miller acknowledges link between concussions and CTE brain condition
9 years ago

NFL vice-president Jeff Miller acknowledges link between concussions and CTE brain condition

ABC  

A top NFL official acknowledged for the first time on Tuesday a link between football-related concussions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the degenerative brain condition caused by repeated blows to the head. The statement came from the National Football League's senior vice president for health and safety, Jeff Miller, when he was asked during a hearing before the U.S. House of …

In A First, NFL Executive Admits Football Is Linked To Brain Damage
9 years ago

In A First, NFL Executive Admits Football Is Linked To Brain Damage

NPR  

In A First, NFL Executive Admits Football Is Linked To Brain Damage Enlarge this image toggle caption Doug Pensinger/Getty Images Doug Pensinger/Getty Images A discussion on Capitol Hill about concussion research brought a startling moment Monday, as an NFL executive acknowledged for the first time that football has been linked to a degenerative brain disease. Jeff Miller, the NFL's executive …

CTE: 5 things to know
9 years, 1 month ago

CTE: 5 things to know

CNN  

Story highlights CTE results from repeated hits to the head A study found that 96% of former pro football players have the brain disease A variant of CTE was documented as far back as 1928 CNN — The list of football players with a brain disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, continues to grow. Harder helmets aren’t the answer …

Late Raiders great Ken Stabler suffered from CTE, researchers find
9 years, 1 month ago

Late Raiders great Ken Stabler suffered from CTE, researchers find

LA Times  

Hall of Fame finalist Kenny Stabler suffered from CTE before he died of colon cancer at age 69 last summer, Boston University researchers announced Wednesday. “The cancer took him away, but his mind was definitely in a pretty quick downward spiral,” his oldest daughter, Kendra Stabler Moyes, told the New York Times. “And even though he’s a football icon, he …

Lawyers: NFL concussion deal excludes central brain injury
9 years, 4 months ago

Lawyers: NFL concussion deal excludes central brain injury

Associated Press  

PHILADELPHIA — Former players appealing the NFL’s $1 billion plan to address concussion-linked injuries asked a court on Thursday to reject the settlement because it excludes what they call the signature brain disease of football. “The science could determine that all that matters for CTE is the concussive hits you took before your 18th birthday,” lawyer Paul Clement, a former …

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