Protein deposits in brains of former NFL players linked to CTE

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck
Using an innovative new imaging technique, researchers from UCLA have found that the brains of retired professional football players who had suffered concussions have a pattern of abnormal protein deposits similar to those found in patients with chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a condition that affects athletes in contact sports who experience repetitive brain injuries, the researchers explained, and it is believed to cause memory loss, confusion, personality changes, tremor and even suicidal behavior in former players.
Unique brain-deposit patterns found after concussions
Building upon previous research at the university, the new UCLA study (which was published in the journal PNAS on Monday) uses a imaging tool called a positron emission tomography or PET scan in combination with a chemical market to look for patters of protein deposits on the brain.
PET had previously been successfully tested on five retired National Football League players in a 2013 study, and the new research found the same characteristic pattern in a greater number of ex-players. Furthermore, the study also showed that the brain imaging patterns of individual who had suffered concussions is different than those of healthy people and Alzheimer’s patients.
Senior author Dr. Jorge Barrio, a professor of molecular and medical pharmacology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and his colleagues believe that the findings could help lead to improved identification of CTE in athletes. They are also hopeful the research will lead to the development and testing of treatments to delay the progression of such brain disorders.
Using tau to track the development and progression of CTE
At this time, it is only possible to diagnose CTE following an autopsy. To identify the disorder, doctors look for an accumulation of a specific abnormal protein known as tau in the parts of the brain that regulate mood, cognitive ability and motor function. Tau is also one type of abnormal protein deposit found in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s, though in a different pattern.
“The distribution pattern of the abnormal brain proteins, primarily tau, observed in these PET scans, presents a ‘fingerprint’ characteristic of CTE,” Dr. Barrio explained. He and his fellow researchers identified four stages of deposits that could signify early to advanced levels of the disease – a finding which may make it easier to track how CTE develops and progresses.
The new study uses the five subjects from the earlier study as well as nine new former players, all of whom had sustained at least one concussion over their careers. They underwent PET and MRI scans, neuropsychological testing and other examinations, and their results were compared with those of 19 men and women with healthy brains, and 24 who had Alzheimer’s disease.
“We found that the imaging pattern in people with suspected CTE differs significantly from healthy volunteers and those with Alzheimer’s dementia,” said co-author Dr. Julian Bailes, the director of the Brain Injury Research Institute and chairman of the neurosurgery department at NorthShore University HealthSystem in Evanston, Illinois. “These results suggest that this brain scan may also be helpful as a test to differentiate trauma-related cognitive issues from those caused by Alzheimer’s disease.”
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