Elite football players are 1.5 times more likely to develop a neurodegenerative disorder such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's, or ALS than the general population.
Retired football players who experienced concussions during their careers performed worse on cognitive tests than non-players. The findings add to the growing body of evidence that suggests head injuries experienced by football players accelerate cognitive aging. Researchers say the results underlie the importance of tracking concussion symptoms in football players as opposed to concussion diagnosis.
The chance a former football player will be diagnosed with hypertension when they retire rises in step with the number of concussions they experienced during their career. High blood pressure may be another driver of cognitive decline in conjunction with repeated TBI for football players. However, controlling blood pressure could help slow both cardiovascular and cognitive decline.
Study confirms that repeated head injuries, concussions, and traumatic brain injury are the chief risk factors for the development of CTE.
College football players are 5 times more likely to report cognitive impairment, 2.5 times more likely to experience recurrent headaches, and 65% more likely to have cardiovascular problems in their lifetime than their non-football playing peers. Additionally, mortality from brain and other nervous system cancers was 4 times higher in former college football players than the general population.
mRNA decay may facilitate tau-induced damage to the brain and associated apoptosis that contributes to a range of neurodegenerative disorders. Researchers found the mechanism can be altered pharmacologically, providing a new target for the development of therapeutics to prevent or slow the progression of some neurodegenerative disorders.
Mislocalization of the TDP-43 protein alters the genetic instructions for UNC13A. The findings provide a potential new therapeutic target for the treatment of ALS and frontotemporal dementia.
Researchers explore how changes in concussion research have impacted sports and player safety.
White matter hyperintensities were more common in athletes who played more contact sports or had more head injuries and concussions during their sporting careers.
Blocking substance P following a head injury can prevent tau protein tangles from forming in the brain and lower the risk for CTE and other head injury associated dementias.
Cognitive symptoms such as problems with memory and executive function, but not mood or motor disorders, were associated with CTE pathology. The findings advance the ability to diagnose CTE in living people. Until now, post mortem analysis was the only reliable method to detect CTE.
A newly developed adeno-associated virus vector can deliver an anti-p Tau antibody directly to the hippocampus, significantly reducing pTau levels associated with CTE.
