Reflecting on the writting procce

Tawanda Chappell

Pamela Rollins

Eng 1302

15 November 2018

Head Injury in the NFL

Football is considered a uniting American tradition that brings millions of fans together as well as inspiring young athletes worldwide. Despite being a favorite game for most of the Americans, it has been established to have a dark side too. According to research, formers football players in the National Football League have been found to suffer from effects assumed to be as a result of head and brain injuries. Naturally, football is a rough game that players get to stumble, tackled, and even crash into each other heads on full speed with the only protection of a helmet. Although the helmet together with other gears like padding is known to prevent the catastrophic injuries in the field, they are ineffective in the prevention of the neurodegeneration that takes place over time.

From research in 2017 and going back to the situation in the 19th century, it was established that out of the 11 brains of the deceased NFL players donated by their families, 110 were found to have developed the degenerative brain disease. More than 99% of the minds were infected with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a condition that can only be identified after a patient dies (Sifferlin). The relationship between brain injuries has continued to be a cause for alarm among the football players, and particularly those in the NFL. In another study including players in high school, university, and the semi-professional football players, 177 out of the total 202 showed the mild of severe CTE. This is a slightly lower number as compared to the NFL.

The principal parties interested in the issues relating to head injuries are the families of the deceased who donate their brains for studies with the aim of determining the extent of injuries their beloved one might have suffered. Another group of interests are the researcher, neurologists who are concerned with the prevalence of the disease among the NFL players. They are as well concerned about developing a means of preventing the development of the disease because it can only be diagnosed when the infected person is dead.

Position

Head injuries are the most adverse effect that most retired footballer players suffer from. Various consequences including the development of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, as well as depression among aging player are the effects of head injuries. These are the three points that will be discussed in the paper.

Repeated Head Injuries causes Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)

According to the study, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) happens after repeated brain traumas that result in constant brain change. It is known to develop from the recurrent cases of concussions that extend from mild to the severe state. According to Manley et al. (974), repeated blows on the head are said to cause shocks that make one unconscious for some time. These continue to cause changes in the mind with the frequency of the lows received. Head blows causes shaking of the brain resulting in bruises, broken blood vessels, or a damaged brain nerve. Concussions cause slow series of events thus leading to brain damage.

Protein Tangles cause traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) in the Brain

Researchers have linked the development of the Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) among the ageing NFL players with the accumulation of the tau proteins which eventually causes tangles that are associated with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (Brenson et al. 595). The aged players who experienced several concussions has a high level of FDDNP that is associated with the abnormality of the brains. The five players used to experiment the issue were found to experience cognitive or mood disorder. The high level of FDDNP in regions that controls learning, memory, behaviour, emotions, and others mental and physical functions explains for the increased cases of memory loss, depression, and Alzheimer’s disease among the NFL players.

Head Injuries and Concussion causes Brain Damage that results in Depression among the NFL Players

Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is associated with depression-like symptoms that cause brain problem and insomnia. The blow is said to interfere with the white matter of the brain which allows communication between the brain and the rest of the body. From a study conducted on the former BFL players, out of 26 players, two had dementia. Additionally, all of them appeared to suffer from brain impairments with eight being depressed (Hart et al., 332). The number was considered high compared to healthy people not taking part in any game. Some players end up committing suicide due to the repression that results of brain injury.

Summary of Sources that Advocate for each Position

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in Athletes: Progressive Tauopathy after Repetitive Head Injury.

Since the 20th century, it has been recognized that the brain trauma experienced by boxers is as a result of continuous blows on their heads. According to the study conducted in three players; a footballer and two fighters, CTE was established to be linked to the atrophy of the cerebral hemisphere. This is the part that is in control of the memory and other mental activities. The symptoms related to CTE continues to worsen as the players continue taking part in the leagues. Multiple concussions increase the risk of developing both cognitive and mental impairment (McKee et al. 728). There are several cases of the deposition of the beta-amyloid as plagues in the brain. Again, the patients show the evidence of extensive tau-immunoreactivity neurofibrillary tangles that are associated with the cause of the Alzheimer’s disease. The assumption in the study is that despite the head injuries resulting in the Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in most cases, the proteins are also known to continue developing thus worsening their symptoms.

Depressive Symptoms and Concussions in Aging Retired NFL Players.

The publication is a study on the relationship between the current rate symptoms of depression among the retired NFL players and the concussions suffered. The research compared the different types of depression including the infective, somatic and cognitive. Most of the players suffered from the cognitive depression thus a positive correlation between the number of concussions and the severity of the depression symptoms. The later developed with the increased number of blows received as indicated by the number of years they played in the league. The source emphasizes that head injuries interfere with the activities and functioning of the brain. The movement of the brain from side to side during the lows interferes with the position and may undoubtedly lead to the injuring of the sensitive part of the brain that one needs for most critical functions like reasoning. The study assumes that the effects are most significant among the aged due to the increased number of injuries suffered.

Tauopathy PET and amyloid PET in the diagnosis of chronic traumatic encephalopathies: studies of a retired NFL player and a man with FTD and a severe head injury.

According to the publication, severe brain injury elevates the CNS amyloid thus raising the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Again, repetitive concussion and sub-concussive events increase the risk of chronic Traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). From a test conducted on a former NFL player and an ordinary individual with Dementia, the earlier suffer from CTE due to concussions. There was the availability of features that the patient presented with hippocampal involvement and that were more present in CTE. The elements were not present in the other patient. The former NFL player depicted progressive neurological dysfunction which indicated the extent of effect the repetitive blows on the head. The reason behind the lack of feature leading to CTE in the second patient may be due to lack of continuous head trauma that causes brain changes and finally dysfunction because of injuries.

Comparison of the Positions

The three positions are for the idea that the numerous blows that football players experience while playing have adverse effects on their brains thus causing damage and injuries. However, there is a diversity in the causation of the chronic Traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), brain injury. There are those that advocates for the idea of the brain shaking thus resulting in injuries while others associate it with the FDDNP on the side of the brain that deals with various functionalities like memory and mood.

They agree that both cases are as a result of shaking brains during the head blows. Nevertheless, they disagreement comes in when some people claim that CTE is as a result of repeated head injuries and others claim is the availability of the tau proteins in the brain. In the first case, the severe blows experienced are said to cause breakage of the blood vessels that cause bleeding in the brain thus leading to concussions which slowly continue to damage the brain. In the second instance, shaking leads to the accumulation of FDDNP that results in the production of tau proteins that cause Alzheimer’s disease.

Works Cited

Brenson, Kirstie. "Head to Head: The NFL Concussion Scandal and an Argument for OSHA Regulation." U. Chi. Legal F. (2017): 595.

Broglio, Steven P., et al. "Cognitive decline and aging: the role of concussive and subconcussive impacts." Exercise and sport sciences reviews 40.3 (2012): 138.

Didehbani, Nyaz, et al. "Depressive Symptoms and Concussions in Aging Retired NFL Players." Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology : The Official Journal of the National Academy of Neuropsychologists, vol. 28, no. 5, 2013, pp. 418-424.

Hart, John, et al. "Neuroimaging of cognitive dysfunction and depression in aging retired National Football League players: a cross-sectional study." JAMA neurology 70.3 (2013): 326-335.

McKee, Ann C., et al. "Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in Athletes: Progressive Tauopathy After Repetitive Head Injury." Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology, vol. 68, no. 7, 2009, pp. 709-735.

Mitsis, E. M., et al. "Tauopathy PET and amyloid PET in the diagnosis of chronic traumatic encephalopathies: studies of a retired NFL player and of a man with FTD and a severe head injury." Translational psychiatry 4.9 (2014): pp.441-474

Sifferlin, Alexandra. Degenerative Brain Disease Found In 87% of Former Football Players: Study. Times. 15th November 2018, http://time.com/4871597/degenerative-brain-disease-cte-football/