A research team at Boston University believes they have come up with a way to help diagnose CTE in living patients, which would be a monumental step forward in the ongoing research regarding serious head trauma in the world of sports.
Until now, medical experts have only been able to diagnose CTE in patients after a person’s death. Numerous studies have been done over the years to analyze possible effects of playing sports like football on the head. All of those studies have involved analyzing brains from deceased football players, and the information gathered has been important to gain more knowledge about the long-term impact of playing football. But that was always just one step toward being able to properly diagnose CTE in patients while they are still alive. This news out of Boston University could be the next step forward.
BU says researchers found the former football players had a heightened level of CCL11, a particular biomarker.
— Rick Westhead (@rwesthead) September 26, 2017
I won’t pretend to understand exactly what that means, but the basic takeaway here is this: if researchers or doctors can pick up on anything that suggests a person is impacted by CTE, this should dramatically lead to protecting that person’s long-term health before it is too late. And if this is just the first step in this breakthrough, where it goes from here will only make treating and caring for CTE victims more widespread and effective.
“Not only did this research show the potential for CTE diagnosis during life, but it also offers a possible mechanism for distinguishing between CTE and other diseases,” a statement from Boston University said.
BU: “The findings of this study are the early steps toward identifying CTE during life." pic.twitter.com/RhywNsMWM9
— Rick Westhead (@rwesthead) September 26, 2017
This news comes the week following the revelation that former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez had been diagnosed with CTE. Hernandez was found guilty of murder and committed suicide in his jail cell.
