Long term repeated brain injury - Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)

The brain is judged to be a complex organ, having more processing power than most current present-day computers. After hearing a series of audible tapes, I now understand how complex the brain is. Just listening to a free documentary on audible about brain injury. It was captioned "The beautiful brain" by Ms Hana Walker-Brown. It is divided into four beautiful articles on Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy(CTE), a degenerative, progressive brain disease resulting from repeated brain injury. These articles are 

1. A Glass Half Full: This is the story of FA Cup winner Jeff Astle playing for West Bromwich, who deteriorated right before his family because of his condition. He had repeatedly headed the football.
2. An Inconvenient Truth: Dr Bennet Omalu discovered and named the condition known as CTE in American football player Mark Webster. 
3. The Punch-Drunk Wife: Women whose husbands repeatedly beat them.
4. Long Live the King: Summary and progress made so far. The life of Jeff Astle, referred to as a King of football, was made into a play, and what he and his family went through was made evident for all to see.

The series paints stories. 

The story Astle was incredibly depressing as, at that time, they were using hard leather balls, and Jeff had perfected the art of using his head to score goals. To perfect that action and know where to stay, practised it numerous times, and this practice did the damage. He was always in the correct position in the field at the right time, which allowed him to head toward the goal. It is a pity because his wife, family and supporters saw his condition deteriorate right before their eyes. He was a standard fixture on a BBC Sports Quiz Baddiel and Skinner's Fantasy Football League television show. He had some difficulty with his lines but was able to hide his condition with jokes and humour. He kept forgetting things till he could not be left alone in case he harmed himself, like forgetting he had to turn off the gas in the house, put his hands in the oven, or had to be following him like a child around the house. It was a sad story told by his wife and daughter, and you could feel their pain as this great man disappeared before their eyes. 

I had the advantage of watching the film Concussion and the story of the naïve Nigerian forensic pathologist who took on the whole establishment. Unfortunately, due to his nativity and the fact that he was not used to the system and how American life is centred around America Football, he could go boldly and upset the whole system. It turned out that many players developed CTE, a term that Dr Bennet Omalu used to describe, which had been previously seen in boxers and other professional athletes. Repeat injury to the brain leads to microhemorrhages resulting in loss of brain tissue, and he was able to analyse a football player's brain. In 2005, neuropathologist Bennet Omalu and colleagues in the Department of Pathology at the University of Pittsburgh published their findings in a paper titled "Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in a National Football League Player" by a paper on a second case in 2006 describing similar pathology.

Omalu's autopsy of former Pittsburgh Steelers player Mike Webster in 2002 led to the re-emergence of awareness of a neurologic condition. Nicknamed "Iron Mike", Webster anchored the Steelers' offensive line during much of their four Super Bowl victories from 1974 to 1979 and is considered by many the most outstanding centre in NFL history. Webster died in 2002 at 50 of a heart attack and subsequently was the first former NFL player diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Webster's change in personality in the years before his death and marked cognitive decline are evident to all that knew him well. Dr Omalu examines microscope slides of Webster's brain, seeing evidence of severe neurotrauma. He concludes that Webster died due to the long-term effects of repeated blows to the head, a disorder he terms chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Webster constantly struggled with mental illness and had a cognitive decline. He never admitted to using anabolic steroids, although it was legal during the time. This is a sad story, and there are no real heroes in this story. Since football is a multi-million industry, Dr . Omalu had severe blowback. He was forced out of his town lest he be deported. His wife, Prema, suffered a miscarriage due to the stress and was constantly harassed. 

 

Mike Webster

David Russell Duerson (November 28, 1960 – February 17, 2011) was an American football player for 11 seasons, primarily with the Chicago Bears. He also played for the New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals, winning Super Bowl XXV with the former. As an NFL executive, he angrily confronted Dr Omalu and told him to "go back to Africa." At age 50, Duerson died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. In his suicide note, he acknowledges Dr Omalu was right and offers his brain for future research. 

David Duerson

This is a sorrowful story.