Scientists can now diagnose CTE while players are still alive - How will this affect the AFL?

[RUNVS]

Scientists may have found a way to diagnose CTE in football players while they're still alive
http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-cte-biomarker-football-20170926-story.html

It is a humbling but very motivating fact that a person currently has to die before doctors can make a diagnosis of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the degenerative brain disease that afflicts many professional football players and other athletes who have sustained repeated blows to the head.

After all, if it were possible to diagnose CTE in the living, those athletes and the physicians who care for them could probably do something useful with that knowledge.

On Tuesday, the Boston-based researchers who have pioneered the identification of CTE in contact-sport athletes said they may have found a way to recognize the degenerative brain disease in people while they’re still alive.

Researchers from Boston University’s School of Medicine have identified an inflammatory protein circulating in spinal fluid that may reflect the presence of CTE in patients’ brains. That telltale protein, called CLL11, appears likely to make its way into the bloodstream, where it might readily reveal the presence of a degenerative process akin to premature aging in the brain.

Dr. Ann McKee, co-author of a study published Tuesday in the journal PLOS One. “We need to find it at the earliest stages.”

McKee directs Boston University Medical School’s Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center, which recently revealed it found evidence of the degenerative disorder in 110 of 111 professional football players who donated their brains to the program upon their death.

In life, all of those donors had suffered behavioral symptoms ranging from depression and impulsiveness to substance abuse and aggression. The loved ones of most of these players generally reported cognitive and behavioral changes that worsened over time.

An important aim of McKee’s group is to devise a blood test that could alert a young athlete to avoid further collisions, or warn a retired athlete to take steps that could slow a gathering degenerative process, McKee said. But researchers will need to surmount many more hurdles before that’s possible, she added.


Among other objectives, researchers will need to demonstrate that the protein they’ve zeroed in on is a reliable sign of CTE, and that it can distinguish CTE from other degenerative brain diseases. And they must understand more precisely how levels of CLL11 that can be measured in the bloodstream reflect those present in the brain.

In this early effort to test whether CLL11 could help physicians diagnose CTE, researchers tapped into several brain banks. They set out to compare the preserved brains of 23 former athletes who had been diagnosed with CTE, 50 deceased patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and 18 people who had been cognitively healthy when they died. The researchers focused on levels of CLL11 in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the critical brain structure that is first and most markedly affected by CTE.

There, they measured CLL11 levels and found them markedly higher in the brains of those with CTE than in those who had Alzheimer’s disease. Even starker were the differences in CLL11 levels between brains beset with CTE and the brains of people who were cognitively healthy at death.

The new study also found that CLL11 levels in the prefrontal brain regions of football players rose as a function of more years spent on the gridiron. In the brains of former pro football players who played longest, levels of the protein were generally higher than levels in the brains of players with fewer years on the field.

From a subset of the postmortem samples they tested, the researchers discerned that the spinal fluid of donors also contained CLL11 in levels that corresponded roughly to those seen in the brain. The researchers didn’t draw blood from living patients, but it is generally understood that anything that has escaped the brain into cerebrospinal fluid will find its way into circulating blood as well.

McKee said that her colleagues’ suspicions fell upon CLL11 as a possible biomarker for CTE because it is a common sign of inflammation in the brain’s tiniest blood vessels.

As McKee and her colleagues deepen their understanding of CTE, she said, it’s looking more and more likely that the tiny vessels that carry oxygen to the brain’s farthest recesses become leaky and compromised. So looking for the downstream effects of such leakiness seemed like a promising “tell” for CTE, she said.

Finding a biological marker for CTE may also be a key step in identifying ways to prevent, slow or even reverse the mental slide that continues long after a player has retired and the blows to the brain have ceased, McKee said.

http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-cte-biomarker-football-20170926-story.html

Also for more information

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronic_traumatic_encephalopathy

https://www.sbnation.com/2017/7/25/...t-former-nfl-players-brains-study-head-trauma

CTE apparently affects a surprisingly large amount of College and Professional American Football Players. Apparently even 10% of school American Footballers have early signs of it but prior to this, it could only be confirmed, and the level of damage known during an autopsy. Now though, if this can be detected during life, and footballers can learn how much brain damage they might have at any point in their careers, what does this mean for the AFL?

What if a very good player in their early to mid 20's who is showing no signs of the injury but it is detected that they have CTE, and that it is only going to get worse. Now they are playing fine at the moment, no signs at all of the condition, but the tests say it is going to get worse, a lot worse, if they keep playing. Does the AFL forcibly retire this player?

and how do you think players themselves will react when they actually know how badly damaged their brain is or is becoming?

I am not surprised this has not made the main board but I think it is an issue that the AFL is going to be dealing with for a very long time.

 

[HaroLad]

What the **** is CTE?

 

[Lavender Bushranger]

What the **** is CTE?

Seriously?

 

[RUNVS]

What the **** is CTE?

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. It is basically a fancy term for brain injuries.

The result of CTE though is depression, mood swings, memory loss, aggression, suicidal thoughts etc and it is being found in America that even 9% of kids in High School playing American Football are showing signs of it, with that number dramatically increasing for College Football, and increasing even more in the NFL.

 

[madmug]

Scientists may have found a way to diagnose CTE in football players while they're still alive
http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-cte-biomarker-football-20170926-story.html


http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-cte-biomarker-football-20170926-story.html

Also for more information

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronic_traumatic_encephalopathy

https://www.sbnation.com/2017/7/25/...t-former-nfl-players-brains-study-head-trauma

CTE apparently affects a surprisingly large amount of College and Professional American Football Players. Apparently even 10% of school American Footballers have early signs of it but prior to this, it could only be confirmed, and the level of damage known during an autopsy. Now though, if this can be detected during life, and footballers can learn how much brain damage they might have at any point in their careers, what does this mean for the AFL?

What if a very good player in their early to mid 20's who is showing no signs of the injury but it is detected that they have CTE, and that it is only going to get worse. Now they are playing fine at the moment, no signs at all of the condition, but the tests say it is going to get worse, a lot worse, if they keep playing. Does the AFL forcibly retire this player?

and how do you think players themselves will react when they actually know how badly damaged their brain is or is becoming?

I am not surprised this has not made the main board but I think it is an issue that the AFL is going to be dealing with for a very long time.

It should hasten the AFLs push to minimise the collisions that occur in the game. They should immediately implement rules which penalise whoever causes a head knock. Ie, if you duck or slip an opponents arm up to cause a head knock, then that should be penalised. Not just the guy who is the tackler. Unnecessary hits & knocks should be penalised, no contact should be allowed except when playing under the rules. No jumper punches or bumps outside the 5 metre zone. Eliminate cheap shots off the ball completely..

 

[kranky al]

In 20 years the physical contact part of the afl will be next to nothing

It cant survive this imho - every year they will water it down a little bit more - liability and soccer mums will force their hand

 

[RudyBlue]

Is there much CTE data for former AFL players?

A lot of the oldies seem fine, but that's a pretty useless observation.

I think John Platten said he'd been cleared of any brain damage on Open Mike, despite numerous concussions.

 

[RudyBlue]

In 20 years the physical contact part of the afl will be next to nothing

It cant survive this imho - every year they will water it down a little bit more - liability will force their hand

Waivers?

 

[UnitedWarrior93]

There won't be any sports in 100 years time, everyone will be living in a bubble.

 

[The 747]

Is there much CTE data for former AFL players?

A lot of the oldies seem fine, but that's a pretty useless observation.

I think John Platten said he'd been cleared of any brain damage on Open Mike, despite numerous concussions.

Err if you read the OP it states someone has to die to be diagnosed - so no.

 

[The 747]

Scientists may have found a way to diagnose CTE in football players while they're still alive
http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-cte-biomarker-football-20170926-story.html


http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-cte-biomarker-football-20170926-story.html

Also for more information

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronic_traumatic_encephalopathy

https://www.sbnation.com/2017/7/25/...t-former-nfl-players-brains-study-head-trauma

CTE apparently affects a surprisingly large amount of College and Professional American Football Players. Apparently even 10% of school American Footballers have early signs of it but prior to this, it could only be confirmed, and the level of damage known during an autopsy. Now though, if this can be detected during life, and footballers can learn how much brain damage they might have at any point in their careers, what does this mean for the AFL?

What if a very good player in their early to mid 20's who is showing no signs of the injury but it is detected that they have CTE, and that it is only going to get worse. Now they are playing fine at the moment, no signs at all of the condition, but the tests say it is going to get worse, a lot worse, if they keep playing. Does the AFL forcibly retire this player?

and how do you think players themselves will react when they actually know how badly damaged their brain is or is becoming?

I am not surprised this has not made the main board but I think it is an issue that the AFL is going to be dealing with for a very long time.

Will have a dramatic effect on all contact sports not just Afl if they develop diagnostics for the living.

 

[RudyBlue]

Err if you read the OP it states someone has to die to be diagnosed - so no.

I probably should have made a distinction between CTE (a specific condition) and any form of football related brain damage.

I was wondering if there was any data on the brain functions of former players and how it compares to the rest of the population.

Anecdotally, it's hard to perceive a similar problem in AFL circles, but the amount of investigation appears to be minimal compared to the NFL.

 

[kaiserchief13]

What the **** is CTE?

Watch the Will Smith movie. Big injury in NFL players from heads being smashed. You never wondered why the AFL cracked down on head hits?

 

[RUNVS]

It sounds a little boring and very technical but I think this is the most important issue facing the AFL at the moment. If parents are told that there is a 9% chance that their teenage son or daughter will get a brain injury from playing Aussie Rules, I think you will find a lot of parents (a lot of parents) sending their kids to play safer sports.

 

[Brutalitops]

What the **** is CTE?

Maybe read the OP before replying?

 

[Lavender Bushranger]

It sounds a little boring and very technical but I think this is the most important issue facing the AFL at the moment. If parents are told that there is a 9% chance that their teenage son or daughter will get a brain injury from playing Aussie Rules, I think you will find a lot of parents (a lot of parents) sending their kids to play safer sports.

Which is why the Cotchin decision is so interesting.

 

[Komrade_Tiger]

Watch the Will Smith movie. Big injury in NFL players from heads being smashed. You never wondered why the AFL cracked down on head hits?

have you seen the NFL?

the fact they wear helmets mean they just use their heads as ****ing battering rams. No wonder they end up with such brain damage

AFL is very different when it comes to head hits

 

[Ron The Bear]

What the **** is CTE?

Get checked out.

 

[Starburns_]

Too late for that guy Aaron Hernandez murdered...

have you seen the NFL?

the fact they wear helmets mean they just use their heads as ******* battering rams. No wonder they end up with such brain damage

AFL is very different when it comes to head hits

^^This. NFL players cop thousands of head knocks over their careers. Jarryd Hayne might be an idiot, but his description of how the hits he took felt compared to RL was fairly shocking .

 

[Cleavy]

There won't be any sports in 100 years time, everyone will be living in a bubble.

 

[SterlingArcher]

isn't the most scary thing about CTE that it can be (or is) a result of heaps of minor head knocks, not necessarily incidents worth 'concussions'?

Pretty sure that's what I read earlier.

Definitely a tough one because the effects are awful, but really, isn't it the players choice? Players knees and ankles and shoulders get so ****ed they are debilitating in later life, we don't make them retire? But then if a player wants to follow Drs orders then obviously that's the smart call, maybe there can be a fund for that (hell, maybe the ****ing players selling their grand final tickets for scalper prices could fund the CTE retirement fund!)

 

[RUNVS]

isn't the most scary thing about CTE that it can be (or is) a result of heaps of minor head knocks, not necessarily incidents worth 'concussions'?

I think so but I am not sure. If that is the case, would the Rugby codes be in more trouble as they would have more consistent knocks per game than in the AFL wouldn't they? Plus, as far as I know it doesn't even have to be a knock to the head, it can just be a hard enough hit so your brain sloshes about in your head.

 

[Seedsfan]

Who the hell cares? Seriously i am sick of this, jockeys die race car drivers die motorbike racers die during their sport but they know the risk when they get into it and now we have scientists trying to kill contact sports because of brain injuries. It's an absolute joke

 

[telsor]

I'd imagine the first effect would be that lots of players and ex players will get checked out. (and depending on cost/requirements, would be come regular/routine in future)
The results of that would answer many questions, both about the current situation and future developments.

2 that I'd expect to see regardless would be (soft) helmets becoming more common (e.g. Ben Griffiths) and that some players might be forced into retirement long before things get 'serious' because routine tests show a condition developing or a propensity to develop such issues.

Of course, if that becomes too frequent, it might influence lower levels of the game, but it'd probably need to be fairly significant.

 

[SterlingArcher]

Who the hell cares? Seriously i am sick of this, jockeys die race car drivers die motorbike racers die during their sport but they know the risk when they get into it and now we have scientists trying to kill contact sports because of brain injuries. It's an absolute joke

Except jockeys, car drivers and motorbike racers know the risk. It's pretty obvious.

Whereas we're still defining the risk, likelihood, consequences etc of CTE.

Plus half the reason it's become a concern in America is because of some relatively famous athletes who have been diagnosed with CTE on post-mortem after they've gone nuts and shot others, such as family etc. And because it's very likely having a big effect in high school kids.

Obvious why people and scientists care.