Study: Brains of Athletes Could Show Signs of Damage Before CTE

Study reveals pre-CTE damage in brains of even young contact-sport athletes

An NIH-funded study of athletes under 51 found repeated head impacts can cause early neuron loss and brain inflammation years before CTE is detectable.

Study: Brains of athletes could show signs of damage before CTE

Repeated hits during contact sports could cause damage to the brain years before the development of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a study funded by the National Institutes of Health revealed Wednesday.

New Boston University study shows young athletes may experience brain damage before CTE forms

The study showed similar levels of vascular injury and inflammation in athletes without CTE, suggesting that brain damage from head injuries is not solely dependent on CTE.

Repetitive head impacts trigger early brain changes in young athletes

Research supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) shows that repeated head impacts from contact sports can cause early and lasting changes in the brains of young- to middle-aged athletes.

Repeated head trauma causes brain changes in young athletes before CTE symptoms

Boston University-led study in Nature found significant repetitive head impact damage even without the classic tau protein benchmarks of CTE

Study of young athletes finds neurodegeneration might begin before chronic traumatic encephalopathy

This fall, tens of millions of people will be at risk for chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease caused by repeated head impacts from contact sports like football, soccer, and ice hockey, or military service. Researchers have long suspected that the brain begins changing years before CTE appears, but proof has been elusive because CTE can only be definitively diagnosed after death.