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Brain damage was diagnosed in 87 percent of donated brains of 202 football
players, including all but one of 111 brains of National Football League
athletes.
This new study, published today in the journal JAMA, is the latest linking
dangerous head injuries to football, though the authors note that the true
risk may be lower than the results suggest.
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, is the term for brain damage that
occurs after repeated blunt impact, like head tackles in football. Previous
research has shown that CTE is linked to — among other things — memory
loss, depression, and dementia, and in recent years it has become a point of
controversy within football.
In today’s study scientists examined the brains of 202 former football
players to see if they showed the physiological signs of CTE. They also
talked to relatives to gather more information about the players, like
whether they were known to have suffered head trauma in the past, and their
athletic records.
The players had an average of 15 years playing football, and the median age
at death was 66. Eighty-seven percent of the players had CTE. Breaking this
down, this included 99 percent (110 of 111) of NFL players, 21 percent of
high school players, and 91 percent of college players. The more
professionally someone played, the more severe their head trauma.
The scientists also compared the diagnosis to the information they received
from the families. Among the participants who had severe CTE, 85 percent had
signs of dementia, almost 90 percent had behavioral symptoms, and 95
percent had cognitive symptoms.
There are likely other factors that affect CTE risk that aren’t accounted
for in this study, such as the position the player played and the age that
someone first started playing football. However, the biggest limitation of
the study is that using donated brains means that the relatives of the
subjects probably already suspected something was wrong. The authors stress
this, saying that though the study seems to confirm a link between CTE and
football, the results shouldn’t be interpreted to mean, for example, that
21 percent of all high school football players will develop CTE. Earlier
this month, a separate study that uses longitudinal data concluded that high
school football wasn’t linked to cognitive problems, at least in the 1950s
. There were limits with that study, too — namely that football may have
changed and become a more physical sport — which show that more research
needs to be done in this area overall.
players, including all but one of 111 brains of National Football League
athletes.
This new study, published today in the journal JAMA, is the latest linking
dangerous head injuries to football, though the authors note that the true
risk may be lower than the results suggest.
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, is the term for brain damage that
occurs after repeated blunt impact, like head tackles in football. Previous
research has shown that CTE is linked to — among other things — memory
loss, depression, and dementia, and in recent years it has become a point of
controversy within football.
In today’s study scientists examined the brains of 202 former football
players to see if they showed the physiological signs of CTE. They also
talked to relatives to gather more information about the players, like
whether they were known to have suffered head trauma in the past, and their
athletic records.
The players had an average of 15 years playing football, and the median age
at death was 66. Eighty-seven percent of the players had CTE. Breaking this
down, this included 99 percent (110 of 111) of NFL players, 21 percent of
high school players, and 91 percent of college players. The more
professionally someone played, the more severe their head trauma.
The scientists also compared the diagnosis to the information they received
from the families. Among the participants who had severe CTE, 85 percent had
signs of dementia, almost 90 percent had behavioral symptoms, and 95
percent had cognitive symptoms.
There are likely other factors that affect CTE risk that aren’t accounted
for in this study, such as the position the player played and the age that
someone first started playing football. However, the biggest limitation of
the study is that using donated brains means that the relatives of the
subjects probably already suspected something was wrong. The authors stress
this, saying that though the study seems to confirm a link between CTE and
football, the results shouldn’t be interpreted to mean, for example, that
21 percent of all high school football players will develop CTE. Earlier
this month, a separate study that uses longitudinal data concluded that high
school football wasn’t linked to cognitive problems, at least in the 1950s
. There were limits with that study, too — namely that football may have
changed and become a more physical sport — which show that more research
needs to be done in this area overall.
