Evidence of CTE found in former football player in 20’s

Boston University researchers reported this week that they found evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a neurodegenerative disorder associated with repeated concussions, in a 25-year-old former college football player.

While pathological signs of CTE, which can only be diagnosed definitively by autopsy, have been found in younger people, evidence of brain damage was unusually widespread in this young man. The authors noted that the case was also unusual because the patient, who quit playing football junior year because of troubling symptoms, had undergone neuropsychological testing. While he tested normal in some domains, he was impaired on some tests of memory and executive function.

The "observation letter" was published this week in JAMA Neurology.

The man had had 10 concussions, the first of which occurred at age 8. He was a linebacker and special teams player at a Division I college. During freshman year, he had a concussion that caused momentary loss of consciousness. Symptoms persisted and he eventually quit playing because of them.

His grades dropped and he suffered from apathy, decreased appetite, feelings of worthlessness and thoughts of suicide. He dropped out of school, quit working and started smoking marijuana to relieve headaches and anxiety. He began mistreating his wife.

The man, who had a family history of addiction and depression, died of a heart infection.

James Noble, a Columbia University neurologist who wrote an editorial about the case, said it "underscores the many substantial, unresolved and essential questions left unanswered in the field."

Experts still can't reliably predict which of the hundreds of head hits college players sustain in a season will lead to concussion or why some players take longer-than-average to recover, he said. How much risk of CTE athletes face or why this 25-year-old had it when other players his age don't is still unclear as well.

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