Scientists diagnose CTE in living NFL player, paving way to treatment

For the first time, neurologists claim to have diagnosed a degenerative brain disease associated with repetitive head injuries in a living veteran of the National Football League (NFL). The finding, along with other recent research, could pave the way toward early diagnosis and effective treatments to reduce the severity of the illness or prevent it altogether.

The illness, known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE, has been found in people with a history of symptomatic and asymptomatic head injuries. Football players, due to the grueling physical demands of the sport, have been at particular risk for developing the disorder.

The symptoms of CTE include Alzheimers-like memory loss, difficulty performing motor skills, emotional instability, as well as premature death.

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Many CTE patients die young, and even in this new study, the disease has only been formally confirmed posthumously, through autopsies of brain tissue.

For the new study, published in the journal Neurology, physicians looked for signs of possible CTE in brain scans of a living 59-year-old former NFL player. The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans revealed signs of brain abnormalities suspected of being associated with CTE, including atrophy of parts of the brain and diffuse white matter, for example.

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Two years after the brain scan, the patient -- whom CNN and other news outlets have identified as former NFL player Fred McNeill -- developed "progressive motor deficits," eventually becoming unable to feed himself.

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The patient died at the age of 63, and his brain and spinal cord were kept for medical evaluation. The autopsy confirmed the CTE diagnosis.

Other recent studies have also provided clues for physicians to look for in living patients. For example, a separate study published in late September in the journal PLOS ONE found a new biomarker for use in diagnosing CTE in living patients.

"The findings of this study are the early steps toward identifying CTE during life. Once we can successfully diagnose CTE in living individuals, we will be much closer to discovering treatments for those who suffer from it," said study author Ann McKee, director of Boston University's CTE Center, in a press release.

As this research progresses it may lead to a day when active NFL players as well as players in other sports with head injury risks, such as soccer, can be tested and possibly treated for early signs of CTE. Similarly, Alzheimers disease is being diagnosed earlier in life, with at-risk populations taking medications designed to delay or reduce symptoms.

After years of downplaying the severity of the problem, the NFL is increasingly coming to grips with the scope of the CTE challenge. The degenerative illness is more prevalent than previously thought, with a study published in July finding that 110 out of 111 brains of men with NFL experience suspected of having CTE actually had the ailment.

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