Community Chat

[chihuahuamom]

My husband is in late stage Alzheimers, and he played football in college and high school as well as participated in wrestling (falling on his head once). Of course, it can't be proven that's what caused this disease, but I will always believe it contributed to, if not caused it, years later.

[Deb1010yetagain]

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@Pianomama wrote:

My husband is in late stage Alzheimers, and he played football in college and high school as well as participated in wrestling (falling on his head once). Of course, it can't be proven that's what caused this disease, but I will always believe it contributed to, if not caused it, years later.

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Oh, @chihuahuamom, I'm so sorry about your ((DH)).

[Sooner]

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@physicsnut wrote:

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@151949 wrote:

We went to see this movie because a friend of ours was in it and it was filmed in Pittsburgh. What the NFL put that poor doctor through was a sin! I remember when they went after the coroner's office and the coroner himself,Cyril Wecht. They say these days that OJ sits in his cell and faces the corner talking to himself  from his brain damage.Since some of these guys exhibited severe aggression and violent behavior I guess that is why he did what he did to his ex wife. Not that brain damage makes it OK.

I think parents need to not allow their kids to play violent sports like football and hockey,especially the very little kids.

I could care less what OJ does. He will blame his crimes on anything but himself!

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Remember Flip WIlson?  "The DEVIL made me do it."  

[Lila Belle]

Jmo but all the incidences of spousal/partner and child abuse et al by athletes are probably due to or exacerbated by CTE.

I wonder if knowing what we now know about CTE would have been a basis for a defense in the OJ case and what the 'punishment' would have been if it found to be a cause or contributing factor. Or even in future cases and legal proceedings what punishment would be meted out ?

[151949]

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@Lila Belle wrote:
Jmo but all the incidences of spousal/partner and child abuse et al by athletes are probably due to or exacerbated by CTE.

I wonder if knowing what we now know about CTE would have been a basis for a defense in the OJ case and what the 'punishment' would have been if it found to be a cause or contributing Unfortunately, . Or even in future cases and legal proceedings what punishment would be meted out ?

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Unfortunately,CTE can't be diagnosed until the person has died and they autopsy the brain.

[Lila Belle]

I know that autopy is the final determinant. It would have to done anecdotally, 151949 by doctors and testing. We know that there are athletes and regular folks who exhibit behavior and symptoms assocciated with CTE.

[scotnovel]

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@Noel7 wrote:

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@scotnovel wrote:

I have been a fan for more than 50 years and I am still a fan of both college and NFL football.  There are risks in every sport, some, like MMA, are much more violent than football, yet no one is talking about that sport.  I am concerned about the concussions and CTE, but a lot more research needs to be done to fully understand CTE.  While true that almost all of the brains studied so far had CTE, all of those player's brains were being studied because those players were showing symptoms so you would expect that most would test positive.

There are so many unanswered questions at this point.  Is there something that made these players more susceptible, like an issue with a chromosome or some aspect of DNA?  How often, or does, CTE occur in the non sports playing population?   Is it always linked to concussions?  What about the literally hundreds of thousands of players who have played the game in the last hundred years?  The vast majority of them have gone on to lead full lives so why weren't they susceptible?     We need lots more intensive research, and yes, stringent concussion protocols until we know something more definitive.   Also it is irresponsible for so called professionals to just make declarations about people like OJ.  We can't just look at a current or former football players' conduct and make unsubstantiated claims that they have CTE.  

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Serious concussions occur in non-sports areas all the time.  The difference with football concussions is that they are cumulative.  It' isn't just one usually, it's several or many.

I would think an MD specializing in CTE would be able to call it from the symptoms alone.

I agree with you that more research is necessary, but in the meantime, there are precautions to take.  There are new high tech helmets coming out that hopefully will help, and some teams are already having a specialist and equipment for diagnosis and threatment right on the spot.

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Football isn't the only sport where participants can have multiple concussions and for those concussions to be cumulative.  Hockey, Boxing, Rugby, MMA, professional wrestling, certain rodeo activities, and many others come to mind.  Some military personnel who have been exposed to  multiple explosive blasts have also been diagnosed with CTE.