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Tackling the brain: Clues emerge about the pathology of sports-related brain trauma

Nature Medicine volume 22, pages 326–329 (2016)Cite this article

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“We really need a way to detect this during life,” says neuropathologist Ann McKee, co-director of the Boston University (BU) CTE Center brain bank, who oversaw Keck's case, which was published in March1. She is disturbed, she says, by stories of young athletes such as Keck, whose widow disclosed his identity to increase awareness of CTE. If researchers could find a way to diagnose the disease in patients while they are still alive, they might be able to prevent it from worsening, and, eventually, develop ways to treat it.

CTE has been a flash point in the debates over whether professional football puts players at risk for neurological disease, ever since pathologist Bennet Omalu, now chief medical examiner for San Joaquin County, California, first reported the pathology in a retired National Football League (NFL) player2. More than ten years later, the inability to diagnose the brain condition during life or ascribe to it specific causes or clinical symptoms add to the contention.

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  1. Amanda B. Keener is a freelance science writer based in North Carolina.,

    Amanda B. Keener

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Keener, A. Tackling the brain: Clues emerge about the pathology of sports-related brain trauma. Nat Med 22, 326–329 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0416-326

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