CTE and Concussions

A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury, also known as a TBI. Concussions are typically caused by a rough blow, bump or jolt to the head or an impact hit to the body that causes the neck and head to move. Symptoms of a concussion include nausea, sensitivity to light and sound, constant headache that can’t be helped with medicine, fatigue, dizziness, double/blurry vision, amnesia, trouble concentrating and having trouble remembering things. 

When you get a concussion your brain hits against your skull tearing tissue and causing swelling to the brain. Symptoms can last for over a month. Once the concussion is gone there can be long term effects.

One fatal disease caused by repeated brain injuries, called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease. This disease is caused by injuries to the brain causing brain tissue degeneration over time. Symptoms included memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, impulse control problems, aggression, depression, anxiety, suicidality, parkinsonism and eventually progressive dementia. These symptoms don’t start occuring the moment you get a concussion, but often start occuring years or decades later and there is no set number of head injuries you have to get before symptoms start. 

Right now CTE can only be diagnosed after death. There is no known way to use any of the machines we use in medicine now(MRI, CT, PET, SPECT) to diagnose CTE. With there being no known way to diagnose it there are ongoing studies to try and learn more. 

According to MedStar Health the four stages of CTE are as follows:

•  Stage 1: Short-term memory loss; mild aggression and depression; headaches.

• Stage 2: Severe depression, outbursts, and mood swings.

• Stage 3: Aggression; apathy; memory loss; lack of spatial awareness; executive dysfunction (inability to successfully complete activities that require time management, organization, and problem-solving).

• Stage 4: More severe Stage 3 symptoms; paranoia; difficulty with language and muscle movement.

Those who die from CTE are often athletes or former athletes of contact sports and those who were in the military. Several hundred people have died of CTE. One famous cases of CTE is the case of Aaron Hernadez, a former NFL tight end for the New Englands Patriots. He had multiple run-ins with the law and ended up being found guilty for the murder of Odin Lloyd- a man who was dating Hernadez’s fiance's sister. Just days after being in prison Hernadez killed himself. His family requested an autopsy of his brain which was sent to Boston University. Not long after the world learned Hernadez had CTE. While the team that examined Hernadez’s brain said there was no definite correlation between his behaviors and his brain, the frontal lobe of his brain had severe deposition. The frontal lobe of the brain is in control of decision making, the ability to organize, emotional processing, and social interactions. This is one of the most well known cases of CTE given Hernandez's fame. 

The brain on the right is Aaron Hernandez’s brain at 27 years old. The brain on the left is a normal 27 year old brain.