CTE: Be Dead Before Diagnosis?
It sounds alarming that many young people suffer from memory loss, while some aged members of the population still roam the streets. These old people either do home-based jobs, work in the farms, manage businesses, or do direct selling of their homemade products. They know where to go, count their income and change, and where to go home without companions.
The Tony Dorsett Experience
Tony Dorsett is a football player who was awarded the Heisman Trophy as the Best College Football Player in 1976 and instantly, was admitted to the league’s most popular team, Dallas Cowboys.
Playing 11 seasons and gained 12,739 yards, Dorsett was considered the eighth of all time, running 99 yards in l982, captured the NFL record and in l994 was inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The experience in 1984 with an opposing player, Ray Ellis of Philadelphia brought about cumulative effects to Dorsett’s health. The banging of their heads, and severe blow given by Ray Ellis, described like the hit of a freight train to a Volkswagen, turned out a different person. Memory loss show changes in Dorsett’s personality and life, and not remembering directions and places the 59-year old used to go. The outgoing has now remained in-doors. Diagnosis revealed Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative disease suffered by athletes with cases of trauma repeatedly.
Experts say that the tau, an abnormal protein tissue from the brain is the only object for diagnosis from a dead NFL player. Some declare that there cases from living players, which they consider as the “holy grail” of CTE research. CTE they say may also show symptoms of depression, aggression or disorientation.
There are many cases of dementia or memory loss among residents of the neighborhood, but most never played football, since they are mostly women. If CTE could only be diagnosed after the death of NFL players, for many years had experts not found any solution? Then, why not ban the game with such resultant disease?
But, a very obvious cause of memory loss everywhere is old age. Abusive use of the brain with problems, tensions, and physical and mental maltreatments, it got so tired that the brain cells had gone weak. Practically, this could at least be minimized by brain exercises through reading, writing, or telling stories.
CTE is a serious disease, said to be among NFL players. The case of Tony Dorsett explains it. According to experts, it could only be well diagnosed using the tau from the brain of a dead NFL player with the exception of a dozen living ones. Treatment and cure may take long years if this is the case. But among old people, memory loss has been an ordinary stage in life.
Source: CNN.com.ph
