The Mayo Clinic Staff described CTE as a progressive degenerative brain disease which there is no treatment or cure for. The diagnosis of CTE can only be recovered during autopsy of the brain after death of the patient. There is not enough information or data on the risk factors of CTE; however, those playing dangerous sports, develop injuries from explosives during war, or repeatedly bangs their heads may have a greater chance of developing CTE. CTE can be prevented if patients who have suffered one concussion stay away from injury prone activities to the head because they have a greater chance of developing a second head injury. I chose this article because it was unbiased and medically informative.
CTE affects many different athletes all over the world. Chronic Traumatic encephalopathy or normally referred to as CTE is a brain disease that affects people who have had multiple head injuries. It is found in many cases of ex NFL players who took many hits to the head when playing over their careers. There are many documented cases of it across other sports and some military veterans as well. We have made large strides in learning more and more about the terrible disease. The game of football has changed since we have learned so much more about the terrible disease in recent years. We could prevent concussions by changing the way players practice.
Football is one of the most popular sports in the United States and has brought the talk of concussions into the spotlight. A movie was recently created called Concussion to raise public awareness and educate its viewers on the seriousness and severity of head trauma that occurs in the NFL. In total, there are 1,696 players in the NFL, which reported 271 concussions in 2015 alone.1 Concussions have become an important issue because it leads to the condition known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is also known as CTE, and in recent years the National Football League settled a lawsuit that was brought on by 4,500 former players for concussion-related injuries.2 CTE has been diagnosed in
“Something 's wriggling out of the shadow like a gray snake. Now here 's another and another one and another one. They look like tentacles to me ... I can see the thing 's body now. It 's large, large as a bear. It glistens like wet leather. But that face, it... it ... ladies and gentlemen, it 's indescribable. I can hardly force myself to keep looking at it, it 's so awful. The eyes are black and gleam like a serpent. The mouth is kind of V-shaped with saliva dripping from its rimless lips that seem to quiver and pulsate"(Eidenmuller). During the golden age of radio, many people tuned their radios to the Sunday night Halloween eve radiobroadcast of Orson Welles’ adaptation of the War of the Worlds. As the sun was setting and the moon
Since the 1920s, there has been a severe disease linked to athletes. Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a disease that effects athletes that have had head trauma. The trauma causes the brain tissue to deteriorate. The changes can become apparent after months, years, or even decades. CTE is linked to memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, impulse control problems, aggression, depression, and, eventually, progressive dementia. (“What”, 2009). CTE has caused football to change as well as the equipment. CTE is now widely known and is effecting, not only professional athletes, but also high school athletes. Concussions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy are serious conditions that can affect anyone and have adverse effects.
The acronym CTE stands for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy which is a continuous disease that inflicts the brain of athletes who suffered ongoing concussions and traumatic brain injuries. This disease was known to affect boxers, however, recent reports published that CTE exists in retired football players and other athletes who have a history of repetitive brain trauma. CTE triggers degeneration of brain tissue and can begin in months, years, or even decades. The symptoms of this disease is usually memory loss, impaired judgement, depression, confusion and impulse control problems.
Steven Spielberg once said “Technology can be our best friend, and technology can also be the biggest party pooper of our lives. It interrupts our own story, interrupts our ability to have a thought or a daydream, to imagine something wonderful, because we’re too busy bridging the walk from the cafeteria back to the office on the cell phone.” People used to read books before going to bed every night. In the book “Fahrenheit 451”, written by Ray Bradbury, books are not read anymore, they are actually illegal. People have technology that puts books on screens instead being read on paper. Many people tend to think that technology is helping society, but it is actually hurting society. Human beings today are glued to their televisions which proves that our society is nothing but a duplicate of Montag’s society. In the book, “Fahrenheit 451”, written by Ray Bradbury, Montag’s wife, Mildred, says “It’ll be even more fun when we can afford to have our fourth wall installed. How long you figure before we save up and get our fourth wall-TV put in? It’s only two thousand dollars” (20). She is saying that she wants the fourth screen no matter how much it costs or what she has to do to get it. Most of the people in this society think the same way that Mildred does. If we keep thinking like this, the our society will eventually wind up just like the society in Fahrenheit 451.
The first step to reducing the danger of CTE, is putting more time and money into CTE research. One of the most challenging circumstances dealing with CTE research is that so far researchers have only been able to confirm CTE through post-mortem brain examinations. While people may exhibit signs of CTE such as anger, depression and memory loss, it is impossible to know whether the player is afflicted by CTE or another disease without destroying the brain. To further understand CTE researchers must be able to develop a way to accurately detect CTE in living patients, and properly treat them accordingly. The second, and most common form of reducing CTE risk, lies in producing newer and better equipment. In an article by NeurologyAdvisor, they have decided that, “Most of the public believe that equipment, including new and improved helmets, mouthpieces, sensors, and more have the most potential for improving safety” (Williams). A topic that is currently being discussed, but has little backing, is a new mouthpiece that will be able to record the force of the hit that players receive. This mouthpiece will be connected to a computer that trainers and medical officials on the sidelines can monitor and be alerted when it is possible that a player may have a concussion or other head injuries. While this is a
n the past five years, there was a grand total of 1,184 concussions in the National Football League. Which averages out to 237 concussions a year, and about 10 concussions per week! That … is a lot of concussions. And many of those concussions are repeated, on one single player. Little did these players know that multiple concussions can lead to death, leaving them suffering. I’m Doctor Bennet Omalu, and I first discovered a degenerative brain disease, known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE.
The disease is caused by a build-up of an abnormal protein, named tau, which strangles brain cells. To this day, CTE has no known cure. However, it can be reversed, slowed down, or even stopped. Though there is a link between concussions and CTE, science has not proven that concussions are a direct cause of CTE. It has quickly risen as a concerning effect of repeat concussions in modern day football.
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is most commonly found in pro athletes, military victims, and boxing/MMA(Mixed Martial Arts). Lately people in the NFL and people looking into the NFL have been finding some players to have some kind of brain disease or damage because of the
Did you know that 99% of the dead NFL players had signs of Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) when scientist looked through their brain (Ventras)? Most people wouldn’t know this fact, but scientist do and have known this since 2002. Even though they are making improvements, there is still an alarming rate of concussions happening. This report will discuss who is affected, how it can be prevented, how it is affecting sports today.
A study done by the Center of Disease Control (CDC) concluded that TBI’s contribute to 30% of all injury-based deaths. All brain injuries sustained are a danger to the health of the victim, no matter how common it may be. A concussion alone may not seem much, but it is the effects that come later in life that really change a person’s
There is a dark cloud hanging over the world of contact sports and it is growing at an alarming rate. With the size and speed of today’s athletes, the sports of football and hockey have become more exciting, fast paced, wide open, and fun to watch. However, there is another consequence of these ever growing athletes on their sports. They have made the collisions in them increasingly more violent. The velocity that these athletes hurl themselves through the air has created an atmosphere that could not have been imagined when these sports were created. Although the athletes’ bodies have become
After the suicide of NFL player Junior Seau last May and the murder-suicide of Kansas City Cheifs player Jovan Belcher, the issue of head trauma and the long term effects it has on players in the NFL has become a very hot topic in the sports and medical field. While the cause of Belcher’s depression has not been diagnosed as caused by any specific disease, the official diagnosis of what made Seau end his life has been cited as CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) (Zeigler, 2012). CTE is a progressive neurodegenerative brain disease which is caused by repetitive head trauma, such as concussions (SLI, 2012). CTE is known to cause depression, severe mood swings,
Also, being wrongly convicted is rather uncommon but usually not detected for many years after the execution if carried out. Even if this is the case, nothing can be done as death is an irreversible penalty (Motherjones).