NBC Nightly News (9/18, story 10, 0:35, Holt) reported on “troubling news tonight about the long-term dangers of head injuries while playing football.” According to PBS Frontline, a small study by the “VA in Boston University showed the brains of 87 out of 91 former deceased NFL players tested positive for” chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or “CTE in the latest study of traumatic brain injuries. That is 96 percent of deceased NFL players examined and they’ve also founded CTE in the brains of 79 percent of all deceased football players tested, including those who played in high school and college.”
The AP (9/18) added that the brains were examined by researchers with the Department of Veterans Affairs and Boston University. According to the report, many of the players who donated their brains to research suspected they had CTE, “which therefore skews the population of brains being examined.” CTE is linked to repeated brain trauma and is associated with symptoms including “memory loss, impaired judgement, depression, and, eventually, progressive dementia.”
Related Links:
— “TESTS ON BRAINS OF FORMER NFL PLAYERS CONTINUE CTE TREND,” Associated Press, September 18, 2015.