Ex-NFL Player Conformed as First Case of CTE in Living Patient

Kounang, N. (2017, November 16). Ex-NFL player confirmed as 1st case of CTE in living patient. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2017/11/16/health/cte-confirmed-in-first-living-person-bn/index.html

Summary: This article talks about a person living diagnosed with having CTE. The only way to be certain that a player has CTE is to exam their brain after they have passed. “The discovery was first made in 2012 using an experimental brain scan that can trac a signature protein of CTE called tau” (Nadia Kounang, CNN). There was a transformation in how Fred acted. Fred went from being a family man in their lives to a person dealing with memory loss and depression. It started to tare their family apart. The disease is starting to be categorized into four different stages. The fourth stage seems to be the most severe. “Researches don’t know exactly why certain people develop the disease and others don’t, they believe it results from repeated blows to the head that trigger a buildup of tau proteins in the brain” (Nadia Kounang, CNN). CTE had been known around the football game due to players getting concussions repeatedly. There also have been CTE found not just in football, but in wrestlers, boxers and military troops. The research is starting to show that using a radioactive tracer called FDDNP will help bind the tau proteins in the brain. It then helps to show these proteins on a PET scan of the brain. They are now raising money to help take this research to the next level to further test this technology.

Response: I found this article interesting because of how there is a player living with CTE. It talked about how the player had mood changes in how he used to act. Which is kind of concerning for a person who normally did not have mood chances. I also learned that there are different stages of CTE. The different stages have different effects on a person. Not every person who has CTE will have the same symptoms or will have each stage. CTE effects everyone differently and not everyone will end up getting it. I liked how they discovered CTE in other sports and not just football. Every sport in which people have the chance of getting hit in the head is possible for CTE, but football is the only one that you really see it the most. I like how they found this protein to help to detect CTE, but there is still research to be done to take it to the next level.