Australian Woman First to be Diagnosed with CTE

CTE  (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) is a brain disorder which is likely caused by repeated head injuries. It causes the death of nerve cells in the brain and the only way to diagnose CTE is an autopsy after death. CTE became known after the National Football Players Association (NFLPA) came to an agreement with the National Football League (NFL) for compensation  for &ldquo;concussion&rdquo; injuries players received during their years playing professional football. This was the beginning of the discovery of how the disease affected players, many of whom suffered from chronic depression, dementia, violent mood swings, and in many cases, suicide. There is now a CTE Research Center at Boston University  which conducted a study  and found that 345 of 376 former NFL players had CTE. The CTE Research Center also accepts brain donations from ex-football players to be examined after their death to determine if, in fact, the former players suffered from the disease. CTE is not only linked to football players. A recent Columbia University  study found hockey enforcers also have high rates of CTE linked to concussions. A hockey &ldquo;enforcer&rdquo; is the player on the team who fights the most. Now, not only has CTE crossed into another sport, but it&rsquo;s also crossed to another gender.
CTE Found in Australian Woman