In a potential breakthrough for the future of head trauma research and the NFL, researchers at Boston University and the VA Boston Healthcare System say they may have made a discovery that could lead to the ability to diagnose chronic traumatic encephalopathy in living patients.
Currently, the only way to know whether athletes suffered from the disease is to examine brains after death. This research represents what could be the first step toward diagnosing CTE while patients are still alive. The study — which analyzed the brains of 23 former football players who were diagnosed with the disease, 50 non-athletes who were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and 18 other non-athletes — found elevated levels of CCL11, a protein related to inflammation, in football players, and even higher levels in those whose careers lasted the longest.
“To me, it feels like maybe now we can start going in the other direction,” Dr. Ann McKee, one of the world’s most prominent CTE researchers and the senior author of the study, told The Washington Post. “We’ve been going down, and everything has just gotten more and more depressing. And now, it’s like, ‘Yeah, we’re going to actually find some answers here.’”
CTE is a degenerative brain disease commonly found in people with a history of repetitive brain trauma. At stage one, there are few or no known symptoms. Afflicted subjects feel no different, and those around them don’t notice a change. Stage two brings on rage, impulsivity, and depression. In stage three, there’s confusion and memory loss, and in stage four — the most advanced progression of the disease — patients exhibit signs of dementia.
Earlier this month, Boston University released separate findings showing that former Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, who died by suicide in prison while serving a life sentence for a murder conviction, suffered from stage 3 CTE. McKee, who has been at the center of numerous developments in CTE research, conducted both studies.
CTE has repeatedly been linked to football. In March 2016, the NFL’s executive vice president for health and safety admitted that there was a link between the disease and the sport, and in July, McKee released a study in which she found signs of CTE in 110 of 111 former NFL players who submitted their brains for research.
A method for diagnosing CTE in living players could disrupt the NFL, as several players have retired early in recent years after citing concerns related to head trauma. Then–Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman John Urschel retired just two days after McKee released her study revealing CTE in 110 of 111 football players, and The Baltimore Sun reported that his decision was related to that study.
In 2015, 49ers second-year linebacker Chris Borland retired at age 24, citing concerns of the effects of repetitive head trauma.
“I just honestly want to do what’s best for my health,” Borland told Outside the Lines. “From what I’ve researched and what I’ve experienced, I don’t think it’s worth the risk.”
Just last year, A.J. Tarpley, a 23-year-old Buffalo Bills linebacker, retired because he feared what concussions had done to his health.
“I suffered the 3rd and 4th concussions of my career this past season,” Tarpley wrote on his Instagram account. “And I am walking away from the game I love to preserve my future health.”
McKee said her team’s findings were preliminary and needed further study, but they’re hopeful that if what they’ve found is true — that elevated levels of CCL11 are directly linked to CTE — they can move forward in diagnosing and preventing the disease in players while they are still living.
“The findings of this study are the early steps toward identifying CTE during life,” McKee said. “Once we can successfully diagnose CTE in living individuals, we will be much closer to discovering treatments for those who suffer from it.”