Study Finds Similarities In Brains Of Athletes, Veterans With Head Injuries.

The CBS Evening News (5/16, lead story, 3:20, Pelley) broadcast, “In sports — including boxing and football — traumatic brain injury has been linked to a condition called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.” In a new study, researchers found “striking” similarities when comparing the “brains of athletes with known CTE with the brains of four Iraq-Afghan veterans who survived IED explosions or multiple concussions.” The “four veterans all developed typical symptoms of CTE and died prematurely several years later.”

A report for the CBS News (5/17) website notes that an “‘animal model developed by the researchers will enable a better understanding of the brain pathology involved in blast injuries and ideally lead to new therapies to help service members and veterans with traumatic brain injuries,'” said “Dr. Joel Kupersmith, the chief research and development officer for the Department of Veterans Affairs.”

The AP (5/17, Neergaard) reports, “A small study raises more concern about the long-term consequences of brain injuries suffered by thousands of soldiers — suggesting they may be at risk of developing” CTE, a degenerative brain disease that has also been found in “some retired football players.” Results of the study were reported Wednesday, “in the journal Science Translational Medicine.”

Related Links:

— “Soldiers’ brain damage similar to football players’, study of chronic traumatic encephalopathy shows,”Ryan Jaslow , CBS News, May 16, 2012.

Posted in In The News.