USA TODAY - The degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) has been diagnosed in 110 of 111 former NFL players whose brains were donated for research, according to an updated study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association on Tuesday.
In total, CTE was diagnosed in 87% of 202 former football players --- including high school, college, NFL, Canadian Football League and semipro. The study, the largest conducted into the potential link of brain trauma in football and CTE, was led by researchers at Boston University and the VA Boston Healthcare System.
We are going to break this down for you in simpler terms.
Basically, 111 former NFL Players donated their brain to research on CTE and the effects it has on athletes who put themselves at risk. 110 came back with CTE.
202 former football players, not necessarily NFL players, who donated their brains to research showed that 87% had CTE. This was all considered the largest study of the link between football and CTE, and it coincedentally provided us with the most insightful look at how damaging this process really is.
The article goes on to list some facts as to WHY this is huge news:
- The most common cause of death (27%) among those with mild stages of CTE (stages 1-2) was suicide. McKee had said previously that Hall of Fame linebacker Junior Seau, who took his own life in 2012, had “at least Stage 2.”
- A neurodegenerative-related cause of death -- including those symptoms that are most commonly attributed to dementia and Parkinson’s disease -- was the leading cause of death (47%) of former players studied who had more severe CTE pathologies (Stages 3-4).
- Among 27 participants found to have a mild CTE pathology, 26 had behavioral or mood issues before their deaths. Of the 84 deceased players with more severe cases of CTE, 89% had behavioral or mood symptoms.
There you have it. Some pretty horrible indications that CTE and football are related, and that CTE leads young men to take their own lives and develop behavioral issues.
This is bad news for the NFL, but do you think they are going to do anything about it?