Originally posted by frenchmov:
Originally posted by pdfortune:
You can't safety say 99% of NFL players have it. Nobody but you are claiming 99% of players have it. Kickers and punters make up more than 1% of the league, and none have been diagnosed with it. The brains they studied were based mostly on players that exhibited problems in life, and families wanted to have the brains examined based on the problems. A lot of dead former players didn't have their brains examined. You sound like an armchair medical expert.
Never say never but if you use common sense you can come to a reasonable conclusion. Based on current studies, CTE is caused by repetitive striking of the head/concussions. Football players violently strike their heads multiple times per game in every game. IF the cause of CTE is accurate, then the only conclusion you'd be able to reach is that this afflicts the vast majority of football players. IF CTE is not caused by repeated blows to the head then obviously it's back to the drawing board.
The NFL has attempted to settle the CTE suit for billions of dollars so there is obviously merit to playing football = developing CTE.
Now as to why some players with CTE go off the deep end and others can manage, I'm sure there are many different factors that play into it. I don't think every person who has CTE turns into a suicidal maniac but I think (and studies seem to support) that CTE can have an extremely detrimental effect on people
I think the point he is making is that while it may be necessary to have repetitive blows to the head to cause CTE, it does not definitively mean that repetitive blows to the head will lead to CTE in the
majority of cases as you suggest. If you only study brains of patients who exhibited behavioral/mental health problems you are biasing your sample.
There's no question that repetitive blows to the head create neurofibrillary tangles that lead to an increased chance of developing CTE. I think the important questions are:
1. How frequently are these tangled proteins found in NFL players who DO NOT exhibit symptoms of CTE but did have repetitive blows to the head?
2. How frequently are these tangled proteins found in the general population (ie not subject to repetitive blows to the head)?
3. How frequently are these tangled proteins found in people who exhibit behavioral/mental health issues similar to CTE but do not have a history of repetitive blows to the head?
Once these and other important questions are answered, which will take many years, we will have a better understanding of the disease.
Regardless, I think it's safe to say there is obviously a connection between NFL/boxing/etc and CTE and the NFL has been trying to downplay and hide this for years.
[ Edited by Leathaface on Aug 1, 2021 at 2:58 PM ]