wr Chris Henry - evidence of prior brain damage

[stuckincincy]

Chris Henry of Bengals had brain damage, report says

Condition may have affected his emotions and contributed to his death, doctor says

Enquirer news services, June 27, 2010

 

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/2010062...ad-brain-damage

 

 

EDIT: Additional article, By Joe Reedy and Peggy O'Farrell, Cincinnati Enquirer 6/29/10:

 

 

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20100628/SPT02/6290365

Edited June 29, 2010 by stuckincincy

[BuffaloBill]

The long-term impact of guys taking hard hits is sadly not well understood.

[stuckincincy]

The long-term impact of guys taking hard hits is sadly not well understood.

 

Perhaps not clinically (if that's the correct word), but common sense says hit anything hard enough, long enough, and damage will ensue.

 

 

I'm always very skeptical when I read the term "he was just about to turn his life around." In most all cases, it's uttered by a family member or friend when a person with 40 priors gets shot to death.

 

Henry seemed to have done it in the year or so before his demise. Perhaps he would still be alive had he not broken his arm and stayed on the CIN roster last season. We'll never know...

[transient]

The long-term impact of guys taking hard hits is sadly not well understood.

 

The thing is, Henry was only 26. What they're describing is normally a longterm consequence of repeated head trauma. Think Mohammed Ali who has what was previously referred to as dementia pugilistica. The onset was while he was boxing, but the full effects were long after his career was over. Makes me wonder if Henry didn't experience repeated head trauma as a child or have some early form of underlying genetic or other neurodegenerative disease.

[plenzmd1]

Was just going to post about this. Combined with Gladwells article for the New Yorker last year, I am really starting to wonder about the future of this sport in it's current form. I am 47, and wonder if I have a normal life span to say 75..will there still be tackle football played???

 

Know sure as hell I am glad my son does not want to play orhanized football.

[Skoobydum]

I think this is the cost of doing business in the NFL.

[Hossage]

I am sure I have some brain damage from a decade of drugs, boozing and football.

[Mr. WEO]

The thing is, Henry was only 26. What they're describing is normally a longterm consequence of repeated head trauma. Think Mohammed Ali who has what was previously referred to as dementia pugilistica. The onset was while he was boxing, but the full effects were long after his career was over. Makes me wonder if Henry didn't experience repeated head trauma as a child or have some early form of underlying genetic or other neurodegenerative disease.

Henry take a lot of head shots?? Any concussions? You're right--he was only 26.

 

Hard to imagine the subtle changes in the brain morphology associated with this disease would be detectable after the guy suffers an acute, massive, fatal brain injury. And to suggest that this is why he jumped on the truck?

 

I'm calling a bit of bullsh*t on this report.

[kota]

I am so sick of congress and doctors throwing their two cents in this. Ask any NFL football player about Brain Damage and the sport they play. they all recognize the risks and don't care.

 

Besides there isn't any concrete evidence for it anyway.

[Skoobydum]

I am sure I have some brain damage from a decade of drugs, boozing and football.

 

Another cost of doing business, LOL.

[transient]

Henry take a lot of head shots?? Any concussions? You're right--he was only 26.

 

Hard to imagine the subtle changes in the brain morphology associated with this disease would be detectable after the guy suffers an acute, massive, fatal brain injury. And to suggest that this is why he jumped on the truck?

 

I'm calling a bit of bullsh*t on this report.

 

From a pathology perspective they should be able to see both acute and chronic changes and sort them out. The chronic changes are essentially a form of scarring that occurs slowly and gradually, or deposits in brain tissue that are not normally seen until later in life, and would not be related to or even expected from the acute trauma. If the damage is widespread, or is significant in the front parts of the brain, the effect can be increased impulsivity, poor decision making or "executive function," or a whole host of mood related and behavior related problems. I'm not so much calling BS as I am wondering what was going on to cause this in his brain at such an early age. 4-5 years in the NFL probably wouldn't cause these changes to show up prominently at this point in time.

[Thurman#1]

Henry take a lot of head shots?? Any concussions? You're right--he was only 26.

 

Hard to imagine the subtle changes in the brain morphology associated with this disease would be detectable after the guy suffers an acute, massive, fatal brain injury. And to suggest that this is why he jumped on the truck?

 

I'm calling a bit of bullsh*t on this report.

 

 

 

Are you kidding? You know more than a coroner? Seriously?

 

 

I am so sick of congress and doctors throwing their two cents in this. Ask any NFL football player about Brain Damage and the sport they play. they all recognize the risks and don't care.

 

Besides there isn't any concrete evidence for it anyway.

 

 

 

Why ... here's some coming right now.

[BillsVet]

The thing is, Henry was only 26. What they're describing is normally a longterm consequence of repeated head trauma. Think Mohammed Ali who has what was previously referred to as dementia pugilistica. The onset was while he was boxing, but the full effects were long after his career was over. Makes me wonder if Henry didn't experience repeated head trauma as a child or have some early form of underlying genetic or other neurodegenerative disease.

 

If the report is to be believed, it's even more alarming given that Henry played WR. That position does take hits, but certainly not like RB's, LB's, and QB's.

[KD in CA]

I am so sick of congress and doctors throwing their two cents in this. Ask any NFL football player about Brain Damage and the sport they play. they all recognize the risks and don't care.

 

Besides there isn't any concrete evidence for it anyway.

 

 

Choosing to ignore evidence isn't the same as evidence not existing.

[Mr. WEO]

From a pathology perspective they should be able to see both acute and chronic changes and sort them out. The chronic changes are essentially a form of scarring that occurs slowly and gradually, or deposits in brain tissue that are not normally seen until later in life, and would not be related to or even expected from the acute trauma. If the damage is widespread, or is significant in the front parts of the brain, the effect can be increased impulsivity, poor decision making or "executive function," or a whole host of mood related and behavior related problems. I'm not so much calling BS as I am wondering what was going on to cause this in his brain at such an early age. 4-5 years in the NFL probably wouldn't cause these changes to show up prominently at this point in time.

Encepahlopathy is a clinical diagnosis--it therefore cannot be made on a dead person. Seeing chronic changes of repeated head trauma on a 26 year old is dubious. Making the link to his behavior that fateful day requires a quantum leap of faith---even on the doc who is making this claim.

[transient]

 

Choosing to ignore evidence isn't the same as evidence not existing.

 

Not to mention that much of it is new. Think of LaFontaine in 96-97 and how new the idea of post-concussion syndrome was. Prior to that it was common for players with a mild concussion to go right back into the game, or sit out for the rest of the game before playing the next night. IIRC, Jim Kelly threw a TD in his last game that he doesn't remember.

 

The fact of the matter is science is only starting to catch up. It's hard for players to understand the potential consequences of their decisions to play injured or hide head injuries when science and medicine are only now starting to uncover their true impact (no pun intended). Imagine trying to comprehend as a football player that even if you don't have obvious evidence of a concussion, the simple fact that you continually run in to things as part of your job will most likely impact your brain function later in life.

 

Soldiers who have been in the vicinity of large explosions without any obvious physical trauma are now showing signs of traumatic brain injury due to the concussive waves. We've got a lot to learn.

[transient]

Encepahlopathy is a clinical diagnosis--it therefore cannot be made on a dead person. Seeing chronic changes of repeated head trauma on a 26 year old is dubious. Making the link to his behavior that fateful day requires a quantum leap of faith---even on the doc who is making this claim.

 

Encephalopathy is not soley a clinical diagnosis, it can be made on the basis of imaging or on tissue obtained from a biopsy or autopsy as well (think of bovine spongiform encephalopathy or "Mad Cow disease"), therefore it can be made on a dead person. In terms of chronic changes, it could be seen if the person suffered repeated injury during his early years and sufficient time had passed. As I had said earlier, if the changes they saw were frontal in nature, it is not a giant leap at all to say that a person would be likely to have poor executive functioning, impulsivity, and other mood or behavioral problems that could lead to them taking risks that a normal person would not. The front part of the brain is responsible for these functions. It's the same as a person with a stroke in the left side of the brain losing the function of the right side of their body.

[shrader]

I am so sick of congress and doctors throwing their two cents in this. Ask any NFL football player about Brain Damage and the sport they play. they all recognize the risks and don't care.

 

Besides there isn't any concrete evidence for it anyway.

 

It's not just about the pros. What about the kids playing football in high school and even the years before that? Do the recognize or even understand the risks?

[Mr. WEO]

Are you kidding? You know more than a coroner? Seriously?

That was NOT the case's coroner's report. It was an opinion of a neurosurgeon and a pathologist who was asked to review the slides by Henry's mother. In fact these docs, who are completely uninvovled with Henry's care, made this announcement with her at their sides.

 

You see where this is going? Be skeptical.

[buffaloaggie]

At the least, this report can help explain his erratic behavior throughout his life. Who knows what the cause was. It could be more than just blows to the head. Many factors can contribute to encepahlopathy.