“For concussion sufferers, a brain scan may warn it’s time
to call it quits”
By: Melissa Healy
Source: LA Times
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is the constellation of
cognitive and psychiatric symptoms that appear to result from repeated blows to
the head. Not one person has the correct diagnosis of this disease. The disease itself still needs a work in
progress, and the abnormal protein tangles throughout the brain. The only
people that have been diagnosed with this kind of disease are former athletes
who have dies in various states of dementia, or by suicide. Research has been
done, and disease can be diagnosed now if one is living. With early detection
patients can take steps to protect their brains from further injuries. By going
through many steps, and scanning doctors can see how far this disease has
spread. This disease is abnormal proteins are deposited in the brain that is
usually seen in Alzheimer’s disease and motor neuron disease. Positron Emission
Tomography (PET) scans former fourteen football players and it reveals patterns
in the brain that ranged from localized to extensive. The locations and extent
of these abnormalities are seen to track with the severity of those retired
athletes symptoms of depression, anxiety and intellectual impairment. The
retired football players ranged in ages from forty to eighty-six. Protein clumps can be found in the brainstem and the
amygdala, which is a walnut shaped structure deep in the brain that is key in
processing strong emotions. There are more tests yet to be conducting on this
new research that was found in the brain of football players, and what was the
cause of it. The article is important for people to read because it shows what
can happen to the brain if one cannot be careful, especially football players.
No comments:
Post a Comment