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Fall’s crisp days are not that far away as we prepare ourselves for football season. We are in the midst of pre-season football, as I draft this article. I see the commentators and analysts scramble as they lay predictions upon which teams will do well this season. Analysts also fervently discuss the select teams to watch as we prepare for this uniquely American event.
As I see these incredibly talented and wealthy individuals preparing for the season I cannot help but recall a recent article about CTE.
CTE, or Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, is a specific neurological diagnosis seen with cognitive impairment and neuropsychological features in people exposed to repetitive head impacts such as those experienced by people who participate or have experienced contact and collision sports, military service, intimate partner violence and other sources. CTE is often discovered postmortem via degenerative findings seen in the brain. Such changes occur with repeated head impact exposure and often progress even after the exposure to the trauma stops. CTE cannot be diagnosed until death, and an autopsy of the brain is conducted.
In a recent study examining the brains of former NFL players, CTE researchers found that a higher percentage of the former players were afflicted with this condition than previously thought.
At least one in four former NFL players, who died between 2016 and 2021, were afflicted with CTE. Brain donations for autopsy were from American former NFL players, who played at least one game since 1949. This is the year that hard shell helmets became mandatory in the league.
Looking at this group of more than 380 brains, 59.8 percent of the players examined developed dementia. Those with stage IV, a more severe form, were at 30.8 percent. Interestingly, the dementia these players developed seemed to manifest around age 63 with an average age of death around 73.
Hopefully, the NFL will continue to accelerate their safety programs in order to minimize repetitive head injuries sustained by players. It should be mandatory that all sports and activities where people run a high risk of repetitive head injuries limit such contact.
Certainly, the military should be limiting such events.
Dementia is a devastating disease that affects not only the person who develops it. It also affects that person’s family and friends, who are deprived of the person they once knew.
A sizable percentage of CTE could be eliminated or drastically reduced with changes in the rules of contact sports. Would fans want to watch a more humane version of football without all the contact? I certainly hope so. However, I would not be surprised if the Roman gladiator mentality persists- “absolute mortality and a radical acceptance of pain under extreme pressure.”
Dr. Veita Bland is a board-certified Greensboro physician and hypertension specialist. Dr. Bland’s radio show, “It’s a Matter of Your Health,” can be heard live on Wednesdays, 5:30 p.m. on N.C. A&T State University’s WNAA, 90.1 FM. Listeners may call in and ask questions. The show is replayed on Sirius 142 at 5 p.m. on Wed. Email Dr. Bland at ideas@blandclinicpa.com.
