CTE study findings

[ptatc]

There is a new study out that was published in Sports Health about cumulative head trauma and concussions in retired NFL football. The download was too big for me to attach here but this is a part of the conclusion section.

 

The present study indicates that MRI detects evidence of

probable chronic brain injury related to football in up to 13% of

the retired players and neuropsychological testing detects

evidence of isolated cognitive impairments not rising to the

level of dementia and related to multiple factors, not only

football/head trauma, in 24.4% of the retired players. There is

no clear evidence of chronic brain damage on depression

testing or neurological examination. These results need to be

reconciled with the prevailing view that a career in football

frequently results in chronic brain damage.

 

 

The CTE findings in post-mortem studies may not be as clinically relevant as once thought.

 

It's like the MRI studies that show up to 60% of people who never had back or leg pain show positive for bulging discs.

 

Here is the reference if people can get access.

 

Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary

http://sph.sagepub.com/content/6/5/384

 

The online version of this article can be found at:

DOI: 10.1177/1941738114540270

 

Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach 2014 6: 384 originally published online 25 June 2014

Ira R. Casson, David C. Viano, E. Mark Haacke, Zhifeng Kou and Danielle G. LeStrange

 

Is There Chronic Brain Damage in Retired NFL Players? Neuroradiology, Neuropsychology, and Neurology Examinations of 45 Retired Players

 

Edit: maybe this should be moved to the sports injury section. It dealt with the NFL so I out it here first.

Edited August 25, 2014 by ptatc

[southsider2k5]

I went ahead and made this its own thread. It is worthwhile! Thanks for sharing.

[farmteam]

There is a new study out that was published in Sports Health about cumulative head trauma and concussions in retired NFL football. The download was too big for me to attach here but this is a part of the conclusion section.

 

The present study indicates that MRI detects evidence of

probable chronic brain injury related to football in up to 13% of

the retired players and neuropsychological testing detects

evidence of isolated cognitive impairments not rising to the

level of dementia and related to multiple factors, not only

football/head trauma, in 24.4% of the retired players. There is

no clear evidence of chronic brain damage on depression

testing or neurological examination. These results need to be

reconciled with the prevailing view that a career in football

frequently results in chronic brain damage.

 

 

The CTE findings in post-mortem studies may not be as clinically relevant as once thought.

 

It's like the MRI studies that show up to 60% of people who never had back or leg pain show positive for bulging discs.

 

Here is the reference if people can get access.

 

Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary

http://sph.sagepub.com/content/6/5/384

 

The online version of this article can be found at:

DOI: 10.1177/1941738114540270

 

Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach 2014 6: 384 originally published online 25 June 2014

Ira R. Casson, David C. Viano, E. Mark Haacke, Zhifeng Kou and Danielle G. LeStrange

 

Is There Chronic Brain Damage in Retired NFL Players? Neuroradiology, Neuropsychology, and Neurology Examinations of 45 Retired Players

 

Edit: maybe this should be moved to the sports injury section. It dealt with the NFL so I out it here first.

13% is still unacceptably high, though.

[southsider2k5]

The latest CTE study found 110 of 111 former NFL football players whose brains were tested had CTE.

 

http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/football-...-cte-study/amp/

[BigHurt3515]

The latest CTE study found 110 of 111 former NFL football players whose brains were tested had CTE.

 

http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/football-...-cte-study/amp/

 

Man that has to be tough for the NFL to find out and sad for the sport in general.

[LittleHurt05]

Man that has to be tough for the NFL to find out and sad for the sport in general.

 

The NFL didn't "find out" anything from that report today, I'm sure they have known for a long time. It's tough for the NFL to have this info made public.

[ptatc]

The NFL didn't "find out" anything from that report today, I'm sure they have known for a long time. It's tough for the NFL to have this info made public.

Don't just get sucked in by the media hype of the issue. Some studies have found incidence of CTE in non-pro football players as high as 92%.

 

Here are a couple of quotes from the suntimes article even:

 

"Some players do not have evidence of this disease despite long playing years,” she noted."

 

"It’s also uncertain if some players’ lifestyle habits — alcohol, drugs, steroids, diet — might somehow contribute, McKee said."

 

Some studies are starting to link abuse of steroids or opiates to the issue as well because most of the brains studied are from the 60's, 70's and early 80's.

 

here is a link to a systematic review which is a much more rigorous study than the case reports that suntimes article is based upon.

 

edit: forgot the link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4324991/

 

 

Edited July 25, 2017 by ptatc

[Jenksismyhero]

The NFL didn't "find out" anything from that report today, I'm sure they have known for a long time. It's tough for the NFL to have this info made public.

 

The big issue is the future. How many kids are not going to play because of this news? How does that effect the next generation of athletes? The popularity of the game won't diminish. I mean, maybe I'm in the minority, but CTE/concussions are about reason 52 why my interest in the NFL has lessened over the years. I don't really care at all. They've assumed the risk of playing a violent game involving people colliding at full-speed. It's not a shock that there will be adverse health consequences to playing that game for an extended period of time.

[Balta1701]

Don't just get sucked in by the media hype of the issue. Some studies have found incidence of CTE in non-pro football players as high as 92%.

 

Here are a couple of quotes from the suntimes article even:

 

"Some players do not have evidence of this disease despite long playing years,” she noted."

 

"It’s also uncertain if some players’ lifestyle habits — alcohol, drugs, steroids, diet — might somehow contribute, McKee said."

 

Some studies are starting to link abuse of steroids or opiates to the issue as well because most of the brains studied are from the 60's, 70's and early 80's.

 

here is a link to a systematic review which is a much more rigorous study than the case reports that suntimes article is based upon.

Huh on the bolded? This study is saying "110 of 111". So that quote is saying there are examples outside this study where it isn't present, and yet you just said it can be as high as 92% elsewhere? Your statements against this disagree with each other.

[ptatc]

Huh on the bolded? This study is saying "110 of 111". So that quote is saying there are examples outside this study where it isn't present, and yet you just said it can be as high as 92% elsewhere? Your statements against this disagree with each other.

They do. that is the point. Don't take one study of case reports and have a newspaper report it like it's the only source. It's a single low quality study. Many other studies will disagree with it. It's the nature of medical research.

 

Read the link I posted, sorry forgot it in the original post. It is more of the common view of current research. No one really knows the true incidence because: 1) they still really don't have an accurate way to diagnose it, 2) it is, like all medical issues, multi-factorial 3) concussions are a factor but not even be the primary factor.

[Middle Buffalo]

Huh on the bolded? This study is saying "110 of 111". So that quote is saying there are examples outside this study where it isn't present, and yet you just said it can be as high as 92% elsewhere? Your statements against this disagree with each other.

Probably tested 111 brains of players suspected to have had CTE and confirmed 110 did, in fact. It doesn't seem to be a random sampling or an indication that they tested all of the brains of deceased ex-players. Did they test brains of people not suspected to have CTE?

[Panerista]

The NFL will just pour more money into the heads up program, which tries to focus on concussions, completely missing the point.

[ptatc]

The NFL will just pour more money into the heads up program, which tries to focus on concussions, completely missing the point.

Concussions are one aspect they can control to an extent. They've also put rules in for testing for opiates and PEDs. the testing doesn't go far enough but again it's fighting against a union for regulations just like baseball.

[southsider2k5]

The problem is that this is a number that is way above zero in a situation where anything above zero is a really bad thing. Even if we are talking something way less extreme like 10%, that is something like 150 people per YEAR that are going to suffer debilitating brain damage. That can't be an acceptable number.

[ptatc]

The problem is that this is a number that is way above zero in a situation where anything above zero is a really bad thing. Even if we are talking something way less extreme like 10%, that is something like 150 people per YEAR that are going to suffer debilitating brain damage. That can't be an acceptable number.

But what caused it? If it occurs so often in non-pro athletes what do you do to stop it? Make all opiates illegal? Tell everyone not to hit their head during everyday life? controlling for all factors is nearly impossible but they can try. it is acceptable if they choose to participate.

 

Football is a collision sport. they are trying to limit the exposure to concussions but they can't eliminate it. Players won't allow it. they'll lire about their head hurting and say it's their shoulder.

 

When I was working in the NFL in the late 80's/early 90's, we asked players if they knew PEDs would take 10 years off their lives would they still take them. The answers were overwhelmingly yes. Why, because where else can they make that kind of money for their families.

[southsider2k5]

But what caused it? If it occurs so often in non-pro athletes what do you do to stop it? Make all opiates illegal? Tell everyone not to hit their head during everyday life? controlling for all factors is nearly impossible but they can try. it is acceptable if they choose to participate.

 

Football is a collision sport. they are trying to limit the exposure to concussions but they can't eliminate it. Players won't allow it. they'll lire about their head hurting and say it's their shoulder.

 

When I was working in the NFL in the late 80's/early 90's, we asked players if they knew PEDs would take 10 years off their lives would they still take them. The answers were overwhelmingly yes. Why, because where else can they make that kind of money for their families.

 

Something like this could spell the end of the sport. The NFL has already tried taken the Tobacco lobby road and pretending it doesn't exist and burying it into a lot of other things that it COULD be... so far it has cost them a billion dollars, and some horrible publicity. I already know of parents who aren't letting their kids play youth football because of it.

 

The NFL has got to be proactive with this, especially at the youth level.

[ptatc]

Something like this could spell the end of the sport. The NFL has already tried taken the Tobacco lobby road and pretending it doesn't exist and burying it into a lot of other things that it COULD be... so far it has cost them a billion dollars, and some horrible publicity. I already know of parents who aren't letting their kids play youth football because of it.

 

The NFL has got to be proactive with this, especially at the youth level.

I don't think it will be the end of the NFL for 2 reasons. 1. gambling 2. the players make too much money not to have people want to play. there may be a decrease in participation but it will still be there.

 

the parents who won't let kids play are falling for the media hype and are really uninformed about the real CTE. The kids are susceptible in basketball and soccer as well. There just isn't enough known about it. They may be better off not letting them take pain meds with any injuries.

[southsider2k5]

 

[Chisoxfn]

As much as I love football and cheer for big hits, if I have any say, my kid are never playing tackle football. As in NEVER EVER.   Easy for me to say cause as much as I love playing football (like flag, etc), I was always too big of a wuss / never wanted to get routinely crushed like that.  Never have I said, man I really want to get crushed and/or crush others.  

[Iwritecode]

I came thisclose to playing football in 7th grade, which was when I would've been about 12. The school sent out a flyer and I tried to convince my parents to let me play but then I discovered that it would take time away from the other 2 sports I was already invested in which were bowling (in the fall/winter) and softball (in the summer).

When I got to HS I debated on going out for the team a few times but I had grown my hair out pretty long and would've had to cut it, so I never did. 

[SoxAce]

I didn't play, but my younger brother did. He's always had migraines since he was a kid, so I can't contribute that to concussions or football (he's had 2 concussions from what I've been told, but one came from a car accident that we were both in.. he didn't wear his seatbelt, I did).

Edited May 1, 2018 by SoxAce

[southsider2k5]

16 hours ago, Chisoxfn said:

As much as I love football and cheer for big hits, if I have any say, my kid are never playing tackle football. As in NEVER EVER.   Easy for me to say cause as much as I love playing football (like flag, etc), I was always too big of a wuss / never wanted to get routinely crushed like that.  Never have I said, man I really want to get crushed and/or crush others.  

I would avoid soccer too.