The Effects of TBI and CTE Part 2

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy [CTE] is a progressive neurodegenerative dementia due to the cumulative effects of repeated TBI’s. A professional football player could have over 22 years of playing time, beginning with Pee Wee or Pop Warner, while ending in the NFL. It’s not clear why some players developed CTE and others did not. Unfortunately, there’s no treatment that stops or cures CTE. CTE progresses in 3 stages and becomes more severe with increasing age. CTE Individuals can develop ALS, dementia, Alzheimer’s and premature death. It was estimated that NFL players can receive 90 to 1500 blows to the head during a single season. Recently, Junior Seau of the San Diego Chargers made the news with his suicide. Former broadcaster Frank Gifford had a CTE pathology at autopsy. Currently, Tony Dorsett, Football Hall of Fame, suffers memory loss and other TBI symptoms. Moreover, the symptoms of PTSD and CTE overlap. As reported, some of the combat veterans diagnosed with PTSD may actually have CTE as well. Although our brain weighs about 3 pounds, this powerful computer mechanism interacts with perception, thinking, attention, emotions, and memory while influencing and directing behavior .This process becomes known as personality. A person with a brain injury, has severely impaired habits. What happens between the person and the environment after the injury is classified as a biopsychosocial model. The entire patient history should be considered when determining the overall impact/ recovery from TBI. By definition, a TBI is related to behavior. We may be walking under a tree when a pinecone drops and hits us in the head. We may be driving our car and have it collide with a deer or another vehicle. We may have been shook and hit by a parent or caretaker at a young age. Child abuse with children under four years of age are at the highest levels of TBI for that classification. We may enter and take a high risk physical job, choose not to wear a car seatbelt or protective helmet. At a young age, we may choose to play a high risk contact sport like football. As a high school graduate, we may even decide to enter the service to protect our country or give some other rationalization. Yes, experiencing a TBI is much too common. In conclusion, man is a dangerous {homicidal, sadistic, abasement, and suicidal driven} animal and has difficulty protecting himself from harm or injury. My friend, an All-American, all NFL Pro, with the Cleveland Browns and is a member of their Hall of Fame, played football for 22 years. Among many other things, he said “My memory is not as good as it used to be;” and “I would do it all over again.”