Only one in 111 former NFL players didn’t have CTE, brain study says
which means they weren’t random and not necessarily representative of all men who have played football.
“A family is much more likely to donate if they’re concerned about their loved one — if they’re exhibiting symptoms or signs that are concerning them, or if they died accidentally or especially if they committed suicide,” she said. “It skews for accidental deaths, suicide and individuals with disabling or discomforting symptoms.”
While the study isn’t focused on causality, McKee says it provides “overwhelming circumstantial evidence that CTE is linked to football.”
The NFL pledged $100 million for concussion-related research last September — $60 million on technological development, with an emphasis on improving helmets, and $40 million earmarked for medical research — and in a statement a league spokesman expressed appreciation for the latest study.
“The medical and scientific communities will benefit from this publication and the NFL will continue to work with a wide range of experts to improve the health of current and former NFL athletes,” said NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy. “As noted by the authors, there are still many unanswered questions relating to the cause, incidence and prevalence of long-term effects of head trauma such as CTE. The NFL is committed to supporting scientific research into CTE and advancing progress in the prevention and treatment of head injuries.”
The study marks the largest CTE case series ever published. The research was drawn from a brain bank established and maintained by the VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston University School of Medicine and the Concussion Legacy Foundation.
The 177 brains found to have CTE belonged to former players who had an average of 15 years of football experience. In addition to the NFL diagnoses, the group included three of 14 who played at the high school level, 48 of 53 who played in college, nine of 14 who competed semiprofessionally and seven of eight who played in the Canadian Football League.
“To me, it’s very concerning that we have college-level players who have severe CTE who did not go on to play professionally,” McKee said. “That means they most likely retired before the age of 25 and we still are seeing in some of those individuals very severe repercussions.”
The researchers distinguished between mild and severe cases of CTE, finding the majority of former college (56 percent), semipro (56 percent) and professional (86 percent) players to have exhibited severe pathology.