Twelve of 21 brains donated by players of sports prone to repetitive head injury that were assessed by the Australian Sports Brain Bank were found to have the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), and all but one brain showed some form of neurodegeneration, in findings to be published in the Medical Journal of Australia.
Defined by the authors as a neurodegenerative tauopathy caused by repetitive head injury, CTE has been linked to neuropsychological problems including mood and behavioural symptoms and cognitive impairment.
More research is being done into CTE and concussion in recent years.Credit:Jo Gay
There has been a focus on concussion and CTE in recent years as more is discovered about the long-term effects of head injuries, particularly among professional athletes in contact sports.
The head of the Australian Sports Brain Bank, Associate Professor Michael Buckland, described the results of the study as “disturbing” and called for policymakers to acknowledge the risks attached to playing contact sports such as Australian rules football and rugby.
“I would love to see codes not only have a concussion policy but also a policy on CTE minimisation,” Buckland said.
“That should be based on two principles, which is reducing cumulative lifetime exposure to head knocks and increasing the age of first exposure. Both of those seem to be most important.”
All 21 brain donors had been involved in sports with risks of repetitive head injury. Seventeen of the donors played either Australian rules football, rugby league or rugby union, where concussion remains a constant concern. The paper said that CTE was more prevalent in donors with professional careers but was also found in non-professionals and people who had played sport under modern concussion protocols.
Although at 21 the sample size was small and ascertainment bias was inevitable because researchers generally received brains from people who were concerned about the potential effect of knocks, researchers said the data showed why the concern was real.
“All but one donor exhibited some form of neurodegeneration, and 13 had two or more neurodegenerative pathologies. The most frequent neuropathology was CTE: 12 donors had pathognomonic CTE lesions.
‘Disturbing’: Study finds CTE in more than half of donated brains
Source: Philippines Alive
