The risk of developing CTE in contact sports
As an American football, soccer or rugby player, how high is the risk of developing dementia in old age? Knowledge CTE, in which brain cells are destroyed by concussions to the head, is constantly growing.
Punch drunk
US pathologist Harrison Martland identified the clinical profile of CTE in boxers in 1928, when it was called "punch-drunk" syndrome. The symptoms included slowed movements, trembling, confusion, and problems speaking due to repeated blows to the head. Boxing legend Joe Louis (photo) is also said to have suffered from it. The term CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) has been used since 1966.
'Iron Mike' Webster
With the Pittsburgh Steelers, "Iron Mike" Webster won the Superbowl four times. The many head traumas he suffered on the field would lead to major health problems after he retired as a player. The NFL star diedbin 2002 at the age of just 50. During the autopsy, pathologist Bennet Omalu confirmed that Webster had CTE.
Will Smith as Bennet Omalu
In 2015, Hollywood director Peter Landesman (right) made a film about Bennet Omalu (second from right). Film star Will Smith (left.) portrayed the pathologist, who was undeterred in his research despite the resistance of the NFL and the hostility of many football fans. The award-winning film "Concussion" brought broad public attention to CTE.
Leading CTE researcher
The many other researchers working on CTE were not mentioned in the film. Ann McKee (photo), a pathologist from Boston, is considered one of the leading experts on CTE. In numerous studies, she has demonstrated the existence of CTE not only in American football, but also in other contact sports. Here she shows the brain of former NFL professional Aaron Hernandez, destroyed by CTE.
The case of Aaron Hernandez
In the early stages, CTE can also lead to extreme personality changes. Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder in 2015. In 2017, he took his own life in prison, at the age of 27. During the autopsy, McKee's team confirmed that he'd had an unusually advanced stage of CTE for that age.
First female CTE diagnosis
Athletes with CTE are at a higher risk of suicide. In 2022, Heather Anderson (photo) took her own life at the age of 28. She had played professionally in the Australian rules football league. Anderson's parents made her brain available to the scientists at the Australian Sports Brain Bank. Hers would be the first CTE diagnosis in a female athlete.
Jeff Astle – too many headers
Jeff Astle, a striker for English football club West Bromwich Albion in the In the 1960s and 70s, was known for his heading ability. Having suffered from severe dementia, he died in 2002 at the age of 59. According to the pathologist, his brain "looked like that of a boxer," recalled his daughter Dawn Astle later. "The most likely cause of this trauma was the frequent headers."
Not only older athletes affected
CTE can also develop at an early age. This was shown by a study conducted by Boston University in August 2023, in which the team examined the brains of 152 athletes in contact sports on youth, high school and college teams who had died before the age of 30. Forty percent of them had CTE.
Increasing risk with every season played
During the Rugby World Cup in France in October 2023, news broke of a CTE study by scientists from the USA, Australia and Scotland. Of the 31 brains of former professional and amateur rugby players that they examined, 21 had CTE. They also found that the length of a player's career was a key factor: Every season played increases a rugby player's risk of developing CTE increases by 14%.