CTE Discovered in a Living Patient

[26CornerBlitz]

 

In a potentially groundbreaking first, doctors say they detected chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the degenerative brain disease associated with repeated head injuries, in a living patient. 

Just weeks after Boston University researchers announced CCL11 proteins in the brain could indicate CTE in living patients, researchers in Chicago say they identified CTE in a retired NFL player before he died by detecting different proteins. Initially, they performed brain exams on 14 former NFL players in 2012 while all were living. 

 

http://www.newser.com/story/251677/doctors-thought-he-had-cte-his-death-gave-confirmation.html

[KollegeStudnet]

Wow! Dig this study. 

[BuffalothruMyVeins]

It's interesting that this is now possible, but (forgive my ignorance) doesn't this not really do anything except confirm a suspicion? There is no cure, or really treatment, for this, so maybe it would just keep the doctors from chasing after other diseases effecting the patient and at least put a name on what's ailing the patient, but still not fix it, right?

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

...OMG, has Bob Costas been informed??.................

[PIZ]

Have they studied for CTE in non athlete brains?  Scary stuff.

[Mr. WEO]

We can assume every NFL player's brain will or would show evidence of CTE on autopsy.  But what would be the significance given that so few former NFL players now exhibit clinical brain damage.  Every smoker will exhibit evidence of cigarette abuse in their lungs on autopsy--even if relatively few died of lung cancer.

 

What should be done with this information?

 

[JohnC]

2 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

We can assume every NFL player's brain will or would show evidence of CTE on autopsy.  But what would be the significance given that so few former NFL players now exhibit clinical brain damage.  Every smoker will exhibit evidence of cigarette abuse in their lungs on autopsy--even if relatively few died of lung cancer.

 

What should be done with this information?

 

Not to allow your kids to play football. 

[Mr. WEO]

4 minutes ago, JohnC said:

Not to allow your kids to play football. 

 

 

This "new" finding adds nothing to that calculation parents have to make.  They already know all this.

 

"there is risk of brain injury"

[JohnC]

3 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

 

This "new" finding adds nothing to that calculation parents have to make.  They already know all this.

 

"there is risk of brain injury"

That's the point! It is constantly getting publicly confirmed, again and again. 

Edited November 17, 2017 by JohnC

[Foxx]

so, the patient no longer has to die before they know if he has/had CTE?

 

[BadLandsMeanie]

Well, are they looking at college players too? What I mean is, do they know when this is happening for sure? Or ar  they just figuring it is in the NFL because of the level of contact?

Just now, Foxx said:

so, the patient no longer has to die before they know if he has/had CTE?

 

In my case they know because of the things I say and do.

 

But yes they are saying they found a protein or something that shows in your blood or something like that.

[Mr. WEO]

A best-selling book, a major studio motion picture, a billion dollar settlement, incessant reporting about CTE for several years, high profile suicides/behavioral issues weren't enough for the average parent to decide?  It has taken a single case where doctors thought a guy had CTE...and turns out he HAD CTE...to tip the scales for them?

 

I'm not buying it.

[Foxx]

3 minutes ago, BadLandsMeanie said:

In my case they know because of the things I say and do. ...

lol. stop.

Edited November 17, 2017 by Foxx

[rant_and_go_returns]

44 minutes ago, BuffalothruMyVeins said:

It's interesting that this is now possible, but (forgive my ignorance) doesn't this not really do anything except confirm a suspicion? There is no cure, or really treatment, for this, so maybe it would just keep the doctors from chasing after other diseases effecting the patient and at least put a name on what's ailing the patient, but still not fix it, right?

Doctors treat patients. Researchers expand human knowledge.

For a long time, the heart was just like the brain, very little treatment. Any advance in nueroscience is great. It could lead to treatments for other diseases, maybe even completley unrrelated. 

 

AFib is a big problem. There's a surgery where they intentionally scar heart valves to treat it. Perhaps a controlled trauma of the brain could cure something seeing how that's where everything connects..

Edited November 17, 2017 by rant_and_go_returns

[GoBills808]

23 minutes ago, PIZ said:

Have they studied for CTE in non athlete brains?  Scary stuff.

Yes. Study on combat veterans in 2012: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3739428/

[Beast]

Hmmm

 

Edited November 17, 2017 by Binghamton Beast

[BuffaloBill]

This is a major finding....

[Mr. WEO]

The problem may be this:  they develop a blood test for "abnormal tau proteins" in the brain as a marker for CTE.  It is likely that this will be a very sensitive, yet very nonspecific marker for actual neurologic disease, or risk of developing disease.

 

In other words, just like all football players' brains would likely show abnormal tau proteins on autopsy--even in the absence of any clinical neurologic disease, a blood test may show that every college football player has a "positive" test.  We know that relatively few NFL players will go on to develop an actual CTE or head trauma related neurologic disease.  SO what value is a highly nonspecific test for an athlete?

[DriveFor1Outta5]

9 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

A best-selling book, a major studio motion picture, a billion dollar settlement, incessant reporting about CTE for several years, high profile suicides/behavioral issues weren't enough for the average parent to decide?  It has taken a single case where doctors thought a guy had CTE...and turns out he HAD CTE...to tip the scales for them?

 

I'm not buying it.

It’s difficult to tell what will turn the scales completely. We are learning more everyday. It will take a lot of evidence before football becomes social unacceptable.

 

Some parents still allow their children to play football because their personal viewpoint of the issue.  Don’t we all know plenty of former football players who have had long successful lives? Suicide and behavioral issues are extreme examples. They can never be legitimately proven as being a result of CTE. 

[GoBills808]

19 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

A best-selling book, a major studio motion picture, a billion dollar settlement, incessant reporting about CTE for several years, high profile suicides/behavioral issues weren't enough for the average parent to decide?  It has taken a single case where doctors thought a guy had CTE...and turns out he HAD CTE...to tip the scales for them?

 

I'm not buying it.

I think it's more the fact that it's now apparently possible to diagnose someone with CTE before they're dead. Perhaps they'll be able to further refine tests that can measure the severity of the injuries and their relation to degenerative brain disorders, at which point it would absolutely be of use to players and families of players interested in the prevention of the some of diseases associated with CTE.