CTE: Brain Injuries, Thinking & Memory Problems, and Behavioral Changes - Research Paper

Introduction

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a condition of the brain that is associated with recurrent blows to the head. The condition is once again associated with the dementia development whose one of its potential signs can be linked with the thinking and memory problems. Besides, behavioral and personality changes are potential signs of CTE.

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In most cases, people do not end experiencing the potential signs of CTE until several years later since the occurrence of brain injuries. Physical proof interfacing football and CTE was first found by Bennet Omalu, a legal neuropathologist who played out a dissection on Mike Webster, the Hall of Fame community for the Pittsburgh Steelers. His story was made into the motion picture "Blackout," which has uplifted attention to CTE (Omalu, 2010). Beforehand, CTE had been related to boxing and was called dementia pugilistica or "dazed disorder." The danger of CTE in fighters appears to be most firmly attached to the number of rounds boxed, not to the occasions a fighter was thumped out, recommending that even rehashed hits to the head that don't cause obviousness may expand CTE chance. Doctors and specialists have started to comprehend numerous parts of CTE. Therefore, the accord has not yet been come to on the side effects of CTE. Nonetheless, given present learning, the indications of CTE may some of the time be like those of different conditions that include considerable loss of mind cells, including Alzheimer's infection and Parkinson's sickness. This research paper shall hence seek to bring out the real experience with CTE in connection to football playing and all its potential risks.

In connection to CTE, a concussion is a mid-traumatic brain injury which is capable of knocking out a football player for about 30 minutes or less. Short-term effects would seem to appear during the time of injury, but would also develop some days or even weeks later. Depending on the symptoms and the period of unconsciousness the brain injury would cause to the affected, traumatic brain injuries would, therefore, be considered as either moderate or server.

Background Information About Football Playing and CTE

Having learned about CTE gives me several reasons to worry and wonder how many people including myself might be at the risk of having this form of a brain condition. It is something to worry about since at the current status of football review is that football has become a religion by itself. Everybody in the whole world is either practicing football. Supporting various players and teams and that both the young and the growing up children are getting more into the act of playing. Therefore, football paying has spread all over in the entire world thus creating all the possible chances of the young children and the middle-aged people to face the consequences of CTE. It is now unavoidable. One of my greatest worries is how many people so far who might have already experienced the symptoms of CTE, or yet to experience. Also, either now or in the future, so many people are likely to suffer so more out of CTE, and this may become a major threat all over the globe. Moreover, in learning institutions such as high schools, football is the main game that takes modest interest and that young people embrace so much. This would hence have escalated to in the creation of imminent dangers associated to CTE and in as much as people are not aware of its impacts, they, therefore, would continue with the game hence increasing such chances of CTE.

When I was in high school, football was like food to me. I couldn't imagine any day passing away without having vested in the playground and had that great fun with my colleagues. What I can clearly remember is that I had been addicted to floorball more than anything else. At times, I could fail to concentrate in a 45-minute class lesson, fantasizing on how I will be playing football in the next few moments. Including all the break periods, part of lunch hour, and now the real games time, there was no way I could miss them in the field. Moreover, I was a good player, and that earned me an excellent chance to be in the school's best team that could occasionally participate in the ball games as a time to time.

All this time when I was fully involved in the playing of a football game since in high school until in college, I have never had experiences related to concussion. However, at times some of my colleagues could eventually lose concentration and collapse either after or when the game is played. I never understood what it was all about, until when one of our key players was discovered to have been suffering from the effects of CTE. It was until that moment when I found the dangers that I have been exposing myself to.

Previous Research on CTE

According to a research that was done to football players in the effort of determining the extent to what CTE would have affected such players, the findings were 202 previous football players whose minds were given for research, 87% of the members had neuropathologic proof of constant horrendous encephalopathy (CTE), as per an investigation distributed in the July 25 issue of JAMA. Among 111 players who played in the National Football Group (NFL), 99% had CTE (Rabinovici, 2017). A dynamic clinical course was ordinary in players with mellow and extreme CTE pathology. The outcomes recommend that CTE might be identified with earlier cooperation in football, the specialists said.

CTE is a dynamic neurodegenerative ailment related to dreary head injury. To contemplate the neuropathology and clinical study of mind benefactors with a presentation to dull head injury, agents in 2008 set up the Veterans Affairs- Boston University- Blackout Inheritance Establishment Cerebrum Bank.

The present investigation evaluated benefactors who took part in American football at any dimension of play. Results included neuropathologic judgments of neurodegenerative ailments, including CTE; CTE neuropathologic seriousness; and source announced strong history and clinical presentation.

Researchers led review phone clinical evaluations with witnesses to decide members' clinical presentations, including courses of events of conduct, state of mind, and intellectual side effects. Neither the analysts nor the witnesses knew the members' neuropathology amid the meeting. Online surveys determined members' athletic and military accounts. Pathologists were blinded to presentation information and clinical data.

Findings

It was discovered that what stands out to be the leading cause of CTE amongst the football players is the level of play. Most of the players who had a high level of play at college and high school were found to be the primary victims of CTE. In accordance with various analysis, investigators had diagnosed CTE in three of 14 players (21%) whose most elevated level of play was at the secondary school level, 48 of 53 players (91%), who played at the school level, nine of 14 players (64%) who played at the amateur dimension, seven of eight players (88%) who played in the Canadian Football Association, and 110 of 111 players (99%) who played in the NFL (Rabinovici, 2017). Pathologists did not analyze CTE in two members whose the highest amount of play was before secondary school. These research results are a good indicator that the higher the level of play, the higher the risks of developing chronic problems associated with CTE. Thus, those players who had much play in at high school level and college level, and even pre-high school level, have had high chances of being diagnosed with CTE than those who have little interaction with the football game.

Additionally, life expectancy amongst the football players is yet another threat whose impact is highly spread to the professional players. Research has shown that there have been early deaths amongst football players, whose primary cause is CTE. Sometimes it is so hard to discover the disorder until the post analysis of the diseased and thus a creating one of the greatest challenge to the football players.

Among the 27 players with mellow CTE pathology, 96% had social or temperament manifestations or both, 85% had intellectual side effects, and 33% had indications of dementia. Among the 84 players with extreme CTE pathology, 89% had social or disposition side effects or both, 95% had psychological side effects, and 85% had indications of dementia. Almost the majority of the previous NFL players in this investigation had CTE pathology, and this pathology was habitually severe (Mez, 2017). Dr. Mez and associates said that the discoveries recommend that CTE might be identified with earlier interest in football and that an abnormal state of play might be identified with significant infection load. Attention to a conceivable connection between monotonous head injury and CTE may have roused players with indications of mind damage and their families to partake in the examination (Mez, 2017). Along these lines, the alert must be utilized in translating the high recurrence of CTE in this example, and assessments of commonness can't be finished up or suggested from this example.

Caution

I have a four-year-old son, who has already shown great interest when it comes to playing football. Since I am already aware of all the possible challenge that my son could face if he becomes a fanatic of this game, then I now have all the reasons to be too cautious and make sure that he doesn't suffer from such consequences. I will always have to monitor his movements and what kind of games he is to be involved in. Finally if possible I would engage his school teachers not to expose him into too much ball games plays, and that would technically help him to escape from the dangers of CTE before he can reach to an age whereby I may sit down with him and explain to him how dangerous it could be.

Recommendations and Conclusion

Since there is no formal mechanism to determine with someone has CTE, it is recommended that players to reduce their level of play to avoid the dangers that are associated with such mental trauma and injuries. Besides, no cure for CTE has been discovered so far, thus sounding like a stern warning to those who might have had to do much in the football games. All this is because the CTE condition is still new and most physicians and doctors have to do detailed research to come up with the best ways to curb the situation as early as possible. CTE is capable of causing abnormalities of behavior amongst its patients, mood shifting and dementia. Most of the players have been discovered to die out of the condition and that they were not aware until after death analysis is done to find out such effects.

Works Cited

Omalu, Bennet I., et al. "Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in a National Football League Player: Case report and emerging medicolegal practice questions." Journal of forensic nursing 6.1 (2010): 40-46.

Rabinovici, Gil D. "Advances, and gaps in understanding chronic traumatic encephalopathy: From pugilists to American football players." Jama 318.4 (2017): 338-340.

Mez, Jesse, et al. "Clinicopathological evaluation of chronic traumatic encephalopathy in players of American football." Jama 318.4 (2017): 360-370.