Scientific and medical professionals have been scrambling for years to figure out what causes the degenerative brain disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE for short.
This nasty condition resembles Alzheimer's in many ways, and it's been documented in a host of NFL football players and other athletes. Many have assumed that concussions are the major culprit behind CTE.
But a recent study shows this not to be true. It turns out that CTE can start early and without any signs of a concussion at all.
A concussion can come about as a result of head trauma — but it doesn’t have to. The word describes the symptoms that can sometimes happen as a result of a severe blow to the head. Or many severe blows.
These symptoms can include memory loss, confusion, and balance problems. But not everyone shows concussion symptoms following head trauma.
And they don’t HAVE to be present in order for CTE to arise. That’s what this study highlights. Even if you’ve never had a concussion, it’s still possible to get CTE if you’ve ever had serious head injuries.
Partha’s Rx
- Always wear a properly-fitting helmet when playing contact sports or riding a bike.
- Make sure kids in the car are seated and bucked properly to avoid head injury.
- If you have a toddler, consider placing gates at the top and bottom of the stairs so they can’t fall.
- Take all head injuries seriously. Remember that you don’t have to show symptoms of a concussion to be a candidate for CTE.
If you look at brain scans of someone with CTE and someone without it, you can notice subtle differences. Doctors look for leaky blood vessels in the brain, and buildup of a protein called tau as possible indicators of the onset of this disease.
So, if you have kids who play high-impact sports like football, soccer or wrestling, you should keep paying attention to this story. Because our understanding of what causes and perpetuates serious brain injury is evolving quickly.
