Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)

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yob
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Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)

Post by yob »

This is becoming a pretty big deal, and it doesn't respect boundaries between sporting codes so it gets a thread of its own.

From memory, in the AFL field we have former players Greg Williams and Daniel Bell reporting difficulties with cognition and memory after suffering numerous concussions in their careers. In the case of Daniel Bell:

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/r ... 6031105638
" one of the first in the club to start taking notes in meetings because I knew that it was the only way it was going to get into my brain," he said.

Bell said during games he would sometimes forget his position and he would get pulled up for it.

In life after football he currently works in personal fitness, and best of luck to the bloke.

In Greg Williams:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nm7wIqWaKNo

We have a bloke who can't remember his own career. This unfortunately is no surprise - I remember watching most of his career and it was a simple fact that this guy got his brain smashed every second week and played right through every time.


Now, this thing has spread to all corners of the sporting world - NFL is the obvious stand out, but we also have cases in a teenage gridiron player who wasn't known to have suffered a concussive injury, baseball, and now......... football (soccer):

http://gma.yahoo.com/first-soccer-playe ... 05546.html

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kilonewton
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Re: Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)

Post by kilonewton »

yob wrote: In Greg Williams:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nm7wIqWaKNo

We have a bloke who can't remember his own career. This unfortunately is no surprise - I remember watching most of his career and it was a simple fact that this guy got his brain smashed every second week and played right through every time.
That was a hard watch. I loved seeing him play, even if he did tell me to piss off (or stronger) in Naughtons on Mad Monday after the 95 Grand Final......not that he'd remember that.

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yob
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Re: Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)

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http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/n ... 6964337587
Closer to home, Brown, 32, a 256-game veteran, announced his immediate retirement yesterday on the back of strong medical advice following his third serious concussion in 12 months. Brown suffered his latest head knock on June 14 against Greater Western Sydney and failed a concussion test to play against Fremantle last Saturday.

“It’s a very difficult time, but at the same time I’m very happy on reflection,” Brown said yesterday. “Unfortunately though, the last week or so it’s become evident after my concussion last week that I don’t respond or bounce back like I used to from those hits.

“I had pretty strong medical advice this week that it was in my best interest to stop. It’s been a hard pill to swallow, even though deep down inside I knew that was the right answer.

“I’ve got to keep pretty sharp for the young fella, to chase him around. I’m not going to dramatise it — I’m OK, I’m going to recover. I’m sure my symptoms will clear up soon.’’

Brown’s belief he will suffer no long-term health effects mirrors that of the AFL. The code will gather all 18 clubs in a mid-season concussion workshop this week but it still has a conservative approach as to whether repeated concussions are responsible for CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) — degeneration of brain tissue. CTE can lead to cases of dementia, depression, memory loss, aggression and confusion.
Looks like the AFL is waiting for proof that brain injuries cause brain injury.

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