Concussions in American football

Uncommon card · No. 113196

Play-related head blows resembling concussions in American football have been shown to be the cause of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which has led to player deaths and other debilitating symptoms after retirement, including memory loss, depression, anxiety, headaches, stress, and sleep disturbances. The list of ex-NFL players that have either been diagnosed post-mortem with CTE or have reported symptoms of CTE continues to grow. According to Boston University, CTE is a brain degenerative disease found in athletes, military veterans, and others with a history of repetitive brain trauma. Although CTE is highly controversial and misunderstood, it is believed that tau proteins form clumps that slowly spread throughout the brain, killing brain cells. There is also theoretical research that suggests early CTE might result from damaged blood vessels within the brain. That could trigger brain inflammation and, eventually, the development of proteins such as tau believed to play a key...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Tammy Anthony Baker, Photographer, CC BY-SA 4.0