All posts tagged: CTE

At least 25% of former NFL players who died during 5-year period had CTE : NPR

At least 25% of former NFL players who died during 5-year period had CTE : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

While professional football and the degenerative brain disease known as CTE have long been linked, true prevalence has remained an open question. A new study finds that, among former NFL players who died between 2016 and 2021, at least a quarter had CTE. Patrick Smith/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Patrick Smith/Getty Images For years, as researchers have established a link between repeated impacts to the head and the degenerative brain disease known as CTE, one major question has loomed: Just how common is it — especially among high-risk groups, like professional football players? A new study from researchers at Mass General Brigham, published Tuesday in the prominent medical journal The BMJ, seeks to establish a more accurate baseline of CTE prevalence among retired NFL players who have died. Of football players who appeared in at least one NFL game in their careers and who died between 2016 and 2021, the study found that a minimum of around 25% had CTE upon their death. “We’ve known that this disease process can be caused by, in …

Former Chargers star Billy Ray Smith Jr. dies at 64, family blames CTE

Former Chargers star Billy Ray Smith Jr. dies at 64, family blames CTE

Published by Sam Flores

Billy Ray Smith Jr. became embedded in the San Diego sports community as an exceptional linebacker who lived up to his billing as a first-round draft pick and played all of his 126 NFL games with the Chargers from 1983 to 1992, long before the franchise moved to Los Angeles. Despite being Texas-raised and Arkansas-educated, Smith Jr. became synonymous with San Diego by spending the rest of his life in the sunny SoCal city as a sportscaster, radio host and big-hearted, larger-than-life personality. Smith Jr. died Wednesday at age 64, his family saying in a statement that he “faced his long journey with dementia caused by CTE with unmatched bravery, dignity, and strength.” “It is with profound sadness that we share the loss of our beloved Billy Ray Smith Jr., who passed away peacefully surrounded by family,” the statement said. “Billy Ray brought so much joy, light, and laughter to the world as a devoted father, husband, son, and loyal friend.” Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive brain disease characterized by mood disturbances and …

NFL players 4x more likely to die due to neurodegenerative disease

NFL players 4x more likely to die due to neurodegenerative disease

Published by Jenni Sidey

Football has long sold a contradiction: elite strength, elite conditioning, elite survival. But beneath that picture, a much darker pattern has kept surfacing. Former NFL players, despite lower death rates overall, are dying from neurodegenerative diseases far more often than expected. The broad result was unusual and stark at the same time. NFL players had lower mortality than the general population from cancer, cardiovascular disease, injury, suicide, and death overall. Yet their mortality from neurodegenerative disease was nearly four times higher. “This is the clearest population-level evidence we have ever had that NFL players are dying due to neurodegenerative disease at real and measurably higher rates,” said co-senior author Daniel Daneshvar, chair of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Mass General Brigham and Harvard Medical School and director of the HealthSpan Lab. Flowchart of study inclusion. (CREDIT: EClinicalMedicine) He added that across “every official cause of death,” the pattern held: “NFL players are dying of dementia and Parkinson’s disease three to four times more often than they should.” A healthier group, except for brain disease Among …

Former NFL Star Steve McMichael Diagnosed With CTE After His Death

Former NFL Star Steve McMichael Diagnosed With CTE After His Death

Published by Sam Flores

By HealthDay Staff HealthDay ReporterWEDNESDAY, April 8, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Former NFL star Steve McMichael had a brain disease linked to repeated head injuries, an autopsy revealed. McMichael, a Hall of Famer and key player on the 1985 Chicago Bears, was diagnosed after his death with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the Concussion & CTE Foundation said. He died last year at age 67 after a five-year battle with ALS.  CTE is a progressive brain disease linked to repeated hits to the head. It can only be confirmed after death through brain studies. It has been found in athletes who played contact sports, as well as in military veterans, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. The disease can cause symptoms such as: Confusion Depression Memory problems Impulsive behavior McMichael’s diagnosis adds to the growing body of research linking CTE to ALS, a disease that damages nerve cells and makes it hard to control muscles. “Too many NFL players are developing ALS during life and diagnosed with CTE after death,” Misty McMichael, the Hall of Famer’s wife, …

The long-term effects of repeated head trauma in football

The long-term effects of repeated head trauma in football

Published by Jenni Sidey

Scores on a memory test dropped as football experience rose, and the pattern held across thousands of former players. This trend was the focus of a large analysis of retired American football players aged 40 and older. Researchers compared men who played the sport with a control group that reported no prior history of repeated head trauma due to contact sports. Additionally, the control group reported no head trauma from military service or substance abuse. Overall, men who played football had poorer scores on memory tests and reported more cognitive problems. In addition, participants in the football group with longer careers and higher levels of competition experienced poorer cognitive performance than their peers. The current study uses data from the Head Impact & Trauma Surveillance Study, or HITSS. This is a nationwide study within the Brain Health Registry at the University of California, San Francisco. It has more than 100,000 participants. These participants will be followed into the future. Participants in HITSS completed a 90-minute battery of online questionnaires and cognitive assessments. (CREDIT: Shutterstock) Participants …

Largest study of its kind reveals CTE as cause of dementia

Largest study of its kind reveals CTE as cause of dementia

Published by Jenni Sidey

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy has long been discussed as a possible driver of dementia, but proving that link has been hard. Now, researchers at the Boston University CTE Center say the evidence is strong enough to treat CTE as a distinct cause of dementia, alongside Alzheimer’s disease and other related brain disorders. In a study published online in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, a team led by Michael Alosco, an associate professor of neurology at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and co-director of clinical research at the BU CTE Center, analyzed 614 brain donors who had known exposure to repetitive head impacts. Most were contact sport athletes, and most had played American football. “This study provides evidence of a robust association between CTE and dementia as well as cognitive symptoms, supporting our suspicions of CTE being a possible cause of dementia,” Alosco said. “Establishing that cognitive symptoms and dementia are outcomes of CTE moves us closer to being able to accurately detect and diagnose CTE during life, which is …

Scientists develop a light-based approach to protecting football players’ brains

Scientists develop a light-based approach to protecting football players’ brains

Published by Jenni Sidey

Repeated hits to the head do not have to knock you unconscious to harm the brain. Decades of research link long-term exposure to head impacts with memory loss, confusion, and dementia later in life. More than 100 former NFL players have been diagnosed after death with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. The condition has carried many names over the years, including punch-drunk syndrome and boxer’s madness, but the cause has remained the same. Researchers at the University of Utah Health are investigating ways to prevent long-term brain injuries. Their preliminary studies indicate that near-infrared light therapy could help prevent subtle brain inflammation from repeated impacts- before an athlete shows any signs of injury. The findings were published in the Journal of Neurotrauma. In recent years, concern has shifted from concussions alone to repeated head acceleration events (RHAEs). A repeated head acceleration event refers to a series of rapid forces applied to the head, often through contact with another player or by other external forces. RHAEs can produce no immediate signs of injury. Transcranial plus intranasal …