Brain Doctor: These Popular Sports Are Causing Brain Damage & The NFL Is Keeping This Devastating Disease Quiet!
Dr. Anne McKee, a leading brain scientist, discusses Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a neurodegenerative disease caused by repetitive head trauma in contact sports, military service, and domestic violence. She highlights its progression even after impact ceases and offers actionable strategies for prevention and general brain health.
Deep Dive Analysis
22 Topic Outline
Dr. Ann McKee's Mission and Discovery of CTE
Defining Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)
Sports and Activities Most Likely to Cause CTE
The Fragility of the Brain and Injury Mechanism
Dr. McKee's Research and Brain Bank Operations
First Cases of CTE: Paul Pender and John Grimsley
Prevalence of CTE in Professional and Young Athletes
Symptoms and Life Impact of CTE
Tragic Case Study: Wyatt Bramwell, an 18-Year-Old with CTE
How CTE Develops and Spreads in the Brain
Challenges in Raising CTE Awareness and NFL's Initial Denial
The NFL's Shift on CTE and Lawsuits
Case Study: Owen Thomas and Youth Suicide
Helmet Safety: Protecting the Skull, Not the Brain
The Four Stages of CTE Explained
Aaron Hernandez: A High-Profile CTE Case
Preventing CTE by Reducing Head Impacts in Sports
Understanding Alzheimer's Disease vs. Dementia
Factors Worsening Brain Diseases: Inflammation and Vascular Health
Advice for Parents of Young Athletes Regarding Contact Sports
A Message to the NFL and Sports Organizations
The Future of CTE Research and Brain Donation
7 Key Concepts
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)
CTE is a neurodegenerative disease of the brain that progressively robs individuals of their ability to think clearly and remember, ultimately leading to dementia. It is triggered by small, repetitive hits to the head, including subconcussive impacts, commonly experienced in contact sports.
Tau protein
In CTE, a protein called tau accumulates and stains brown, starting in focal areas of the brain, typically the frontal lobes. Over time, this tau spreads throughout the brain, invading regions crucial for memory, learning, and motor control, causing widespread degeneration.
Subconcussive hits
These are head impacts that do not result in immediate or noticeable concussion symptoms. Dr. McKee emphasizes that these routine, non-concussive hits, rather than just concussions, are a critical trigger for the development and progression of CTE in contact sports.
Acceleration-deceleration injury
This describes the physical mechanism of brain injury in CTE, where the brain rapidly accelerates, decelerates, and twists inside the skull. This motion stretches and frays nerve cells and injures small blood vessels, leading to the initial damage seen in CTE.
Cognitive reserve
This refers to the brain's ability to cope with damage by using existing neural networks more efficiently or recruiting alternative networks. High cognitive reserve, built through social connection, mental challenges, and physical activity, can help individuals circumvent areas of brain injury and delay the manifestation of symptoms from neurodegenerative diseases.
Dementia
Dementia is a broad, general term for the loss of mental abilities or cognitive function. Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia, but CTE is also recognized as a distinct cause of dementia.
Inflammation in the brain
Inflammation is considered a key promoter of brain diseases and neurodegeneration, including Alzheimer's and CTE. It can be exacerbated by damaged or leaky blood vessels, which allow noxious substances to enter the brain, creating a vicious cycle with tau protein accumulation.
9 Questions Answered
CTE is a neurodegenerative disease of the brain caused by small repetitive hits to the head, often subconcussive, which gradually robs an individual of their ability to think clearly, remember things, and ultimately leads to dementia.
Contact sports like American football, ice hockey, rugby, soccer (especially heading the ball), boxing, and MMA are most likely to cause CTE due to repetitive head impacts. Military veterans with blast injuries and individuals experiencing domestic violence are also at risk.
Over 95% of NFL players studied have CTE, and for college players, it's about 90%. A 2023 study found that 41% of contact sport players who died before age 30 had CTE.
Symptoms can appear early, even in young athletes, and include depression, emotional lability, irritability, impulsivity, poor judgment, and aggressive behaviors. As individuals age, memory loss, cognitive decline, and ultimately dementia develop.
CTE begins at the crevices of the frontal lobes and around blood vessels due to shearing forces from acceleration-deceleration injuries. A protein called tau then spreads through the brain over time, even without further head impacts, worsening with age.
No, helmets are designed to prevent skull fractures and sudden death from brain bleeds, but they do not prevent the brain from moving, twisting, and stretching inside the skull, which causes the internal damage leading to CTE.
Dementia is a general term for the loss of mental abilities, while Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia. CTE is also recognized as a distinct cause of dementia, alongside other neurodegenerative diseases.
Maintaining cardiovascular health, avoiding high blood sugar/diabetes, staying socially connected, physically active, and mentally challenging your brain to build high cognitive reserve can help lessen symptoms, even if pathology is present. Good sleep is also critical for clearing noxious chemicals from the brain.
Any insult to the brain can cause inflammation. Damaged or leaky blood vessels allow substances to enter the brain that irritate it, promoting inflammation. This inflammation can then feed the spread of tau protein, creating a vicious cycle that accelerates neurodegeneration.
11 Actionable Insights
1. Prioritize Brain Safety in Sports
Actively work to take hits to the head out of contact sports as much as possible, especially for young athletes, because CTE is an entirely preventable disease by eliminating head impacts.
2. Delay Full-Contact Sports Participation
Delay playing full-contact sports until individuals are physically robust with strong neck musculature, as this enables them to resist hits and reduces the damaging whiplash from unexpected impacts.
3. Reduce Sub-Concussive Head Impacts
Focus efforts on limiting the number of sub-concussive or non-concussive hits in sports, not just concussions, by implementing changes like removing hits from practice and encouraging players to start full contact later.
4. Choose Non-Contact Sports for Children
Consider non-contact sports for children if they can be just as happy and engaged, as there are many low-risk sports available that promote psychosocial development without the risk of head trauma.
5. Understand CTE Progression Without Trauma
Recognize that CTE can progressively worsen with aging even if an individual stops receiving head impacts, as tremendous inflammation in the brain, even after the initial hits, may continue to feed the disease.
6. Build Cognitive Reserve for Resilience
Lessen the symptoms of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s by staying socially connected, consistently challenging your brain, and engaging in mental fitness to develop high cognitive reserve and resilience.
7. Maintain Overall Cardiovascular Health
Protect brain health by staying physically fit, eating right, and maintaining good cardiovascular health, which includes avoiding high blood sugar, diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
8. Prioritize Quality Sleep for Brain Clearance
Ensure adequate and quality sleep, as it is critically important for brain health because the brain’s clearance system is most active during sleep, actively pulling out noxious chemicals.
9. Reduce Brain Inflammation Triggers
Minimize factors that cause inflammation in the brain, such as chronic stress (high cortisol) and damage to blood vessels, because injured vessels can leak irritating substances into the brain and accelerate neurodegeneration.
10. Educate Coaches on Head Trauma Risks
Parents should ensure that coaches are very well-versed in the adverse consequences of concussions and non-concussive head hits, and that there is good education for players, teammates, and coaches.
11. Support Brain Research Through Donation
Consider brain donation for research if a loved one unfortunately dies, as it is absolutely critical for understanding diseases like CTE, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s, providing a lasting legacy for future knowledge.
7 Key Quotes
Every time you see it in a young person, you just can't get over it. You just, it stops you in your tracks. It just makes you stop everything and wonder why aren't people doing more to prevent this disease?
Dr. Ann McKee
My head is pretty messed up and damaged. The voices and demons in my head just started to take over everything I wanted to do.
Wyatt Bramwell
You cut out the hits to the head, you cut out this disease. It's entirely preventable.
Dr. Ann McKee
I can't say that his actions were related to the CTE that he had in his brain, but it's impossible for me to conceive that it didn't contribute in some way. You just don't have that extensive frontal lobe disease without seeing changes to your behavior and your decision making.
Dr. Ann McKee
No matter how big and thick and protective that helmet is, it's not changing the movement of your brain, which is a, a, a, a soft substance, not exactly like cello, but, but it, it, it, it elongates. It, it, it can twist and turn. And that is happening beneath the helmet, beneath the skull.
Dr. Ann McKee
I think people want all this science to go away.
Dr. Ann McKee
It's a lot for you to carry. Yeah, it is. It is a lot. It's very, very hard year after year to keep on. And there's some days that are darker than others. There's many days where I feel it's just too much.
Dr. Ann McKee
2 Protocols
Advice for Parents of Young Athletes
Dr. Ann McKee- Understand your child's needs: Determine if they need to play a particular contact sport or if a non-contact sport would make them just as happy.
- Promote low-risk sports: Encourage participation in non-contact or low-risk sports.
- Ensure coach education: If playing contact sports, ensure the coach is well-versed in the adverse consequences of concussions and non-concussive head hits.
- Educate players and teammates: Ensure good education for the player and their teammates about the risks.
- Delay full contact: Delay playing full contact as long as possible, ideally until the child is physically robust with strong musculature and neck to resist hits.
Recommendations for NFL and Sports Organizations to Prevent CTE
Dr. Ann McKee- Address non-concussive hits: Focus more on limiting the number of non-concussive hits to the head, which are often overlooked.
- Limit hits in practice: Find ways to limit head hits during practice sessions.
- Encourage later full contact: Promote delaying full contact play until older ages.
- Lead by example: Show leadership by effectively addressing and limiting sub-concussive and non-concussive hits.