Concussion Project Finds Disease in Two Autopsied Brains
FRIDAY, July 29 (HealthDay News) — The brains of two of four
former Canadian Football League players showed signs of a brain disease
associated with concussions, say researchers with the Canadian Sports
Concussion Project.
Preliminary findings revealed that Bobby Kuntz (of the Toronto
Argonauts and Hamilton Tiger-Cats) and Jay Roberts (of the Ottawa Rough
Riders) had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Both players suffered
repeated concussions during their playing careers.
CTE is characterized by an abnormal accumulation of a protein called
Tau in the brain, along with other degenerative changes. The disease can
cause poor memory, emotional instability, erratic behavior, impulse
control problems and depression. CTE can develop into full-blown
dementia.
The four players’ brains were donated for concussion research after
their deaths. Kuntz died in February 2011 at age 79. He had Parkinson’s
disease and a form of dementia called diffuse Lewy body disease. Roberts
was 67 when he died in October 2010. He had dementia and lung cancer.
The four brains are the first to be donated to the Canadian Sports
Concussion Project at the Krembil Neuroscience Center at Toronto Western
Hospital. The project’s goal is to improve understanding of how
concussions affect the brain.
“There are still so many unanswered questions surrounding concussion
and the long-term consequences of repeated head injuries,” Dr. Charles
Tator, one of the project organizers, said in a University Health Network
news release.
“We are trying to determine why some athletes in contact sports develop
CTE and others don’t, as well as how many concussions lead to the onset of
this degenerative brain disease. Also, we need to develop tests to detect
this condition at an early stage and to discover treatments,” he
added.
More information
The American Association of Neurological Surgeons has more about concussion.