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BU study finds brain damage in 33 who played for NFL
A new study out of BU will likely add to the growing concern surrounding sports head injuries and concussions, especially football.
The study, published in the scientific journal, "Brain," by Boston University and the Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System found even more evidence of links between head trauma and long-term, degenerative brain disease. It included brain samples taken posthumously from 85 people who had histories of repeated mild traumatic brain injury, and documented routine hits to the head in sports like football and hockey and the possibility that such mild head trauma could result in long-term cognitive impairment.
BU's Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy conducted the four-year study with the VA Boston system and the Sports Legacy Institute. Of the group of 85 people used in the study, 80 percent of them (68 men) showed evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE., a degenerative and incurable disease whose symptoms can include memory loss, depression and dementia, according to The New York Times.
Nearly all of them played sports. Among the group found to have CTE, 50 were football players, including 33 who had played in the National Football League (NFL). Many of the players were linemen and running backs, positions that tend to have more contact with opponents.
Six high school football players, nine college football players, seven pro boxers and four National Hockey League (NHL) players, also showed signs of CTE. The study also included 21 veterans, most of whom were also athletes, who showed signs of CTE., according to the Times. Subjects ranged in age from 17 to 98, and more than doubled the number of documented cases of CTE. The investigators also created a four-tiered system to classify degrees of CTE, hoping it would help doctors treat patients.
Those categorized as having Stage 1 of the disease had headaches and loss of attention and concentration, while those with Stage 2 also had depression, explosive behavior and short-term memory loss. Those with Stage 3 of CTE had cognitive impairment and trouble with executive functions like planning and organizing. Those with Stage 4 had dementia, difficulty finding words and aggression.
“Despite the breadth of the findings, the study, like others before it, did not prove definitively that head injuries sustained on the field caused CTE, To do that, doctors would need to identify the disease in living patients by using imaging equipment, blood tests or other techniques. Researchers have not been able to determine why some athletes who performed in the same conditions did not develop CTE,” according to the Times.
The study comes out as the controversy surrounding the impact of sports concussions on athletes continues to gain traction. Last month, NFL Commissioner Roger Godell addressed the issue at the Harvard School of Public Health.
Over the weekend, Kansas City Chiefs linebacker and former University of Maine star Jovan Belcher took his own life in front of two coaches Satuday after murdering his girlfriend. He was allegedly battling football-related head injuries along with alcohol, painkillers and domestic problems when he snapped.
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