A prominent American neurosurgeon says it is now possible to diagnose in living patients the brain-wasting disease brought to prominence by several high-profile cases in professional sports, calling the ability to identify CTE a "game-changer."
Until now, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, could only be detected during autopsies, after doctors sliced the brain of a deceased patient into thin strips and examined it under a microscope.
Dr. Julian Bailes, one of the lead researchers of a new UCLA study, who claims to have diagnosed CTE in living subjects, told TSN in an interview that the NHL and other pro sports leagues can't "run from the science" and should begin discussions about how to conduct baseline testing of CTE in active players.
The alleged medical breakthrough, to be sure, is already being criticized by some neurological experts who caution that UCLA and its spun off company, called Taumark, might make millions of dollars if the CTE test is commercialized. That opportunity may leave them in a conflict of interest when it comes to reporting study results, said Dr. Robert Stern, a professor of neurology and neurosurgery at Boston University School of Medicine and a founder of the Centre for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy.
Concussions and long-term brain injuries have become hot-button topics throughout pro sports, particularly in pro football and hockey. Researchers have found CTE in the brains of former NHL players Bob Probert, Derek Boogaard, Reggie Fleming and Rick Martin.
U.S. government data disclosed last fall revealed that the brains of 76 of 79 former NFL players had evidence of CTE. Dave Duerson and Junior Seau, a pair of NFL All-Pro players who played more than a decade in the NFL, both shot themselves in the chest so their brains could be studied after their deaths.
Only this week, Bill Gibbs, a U.S.-based lawyer for the late Steve Montador, the 35-year-old former Chicago Blackhawk who was found dead in his home early Sunday, said he plans to discuss with Montador's family having his brain tested for CTE.
That doctors may now be able to diagnose patients including professional athletes and war veterans, and inform them while they are alive that they have CTE, would be an incredible medical advance.
Bailes is a clinical professor of neurosurgery at the University of Chicago and is also co-director of the NorthShore Neurological Institute in Evanston, Illinois. He has also advised the NFL players' union and the NCAA about concussions.
Read more here: http://www.tsn.ca/talent/medical-breakthrough-prompts-talk-of-testing-active-nhlers-for-cte-1.210725
Until now, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, could only be detected during autopsies, after doctors sliced the brain of a deceased patient into thin strips and examined it under a microscope.
Dr. Julian Bailes, one of the lead researchers of a new UCLA study, who claims to have diagnosed CTE in living subjects, told TSN in an interview that the NHL and other pro sports leagues can't "run from the science" and should begin discussions about how to conduct baseline testing of CTE in active players.
The alleged medical breakthrough, to be sure, is already being criticized by some neurological experts who caution that UCLA and its spun off company, called Taumark, might make millions of dollars if the CTE test is commercialized. That opportunity may leave them in a conflict of interest when it comes to reporting study results, said Dr. Robert Stern, a professor of neurology and neurosurgery at Boston University School of Medicine and a founder of the Centre for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy.
Concussions and long-term brain injuries have become hot-button topics throughout pro sports, particularly in pro football and hockey. Researchers have found CTE in the brains of former NHL players Bob Probert, Derek Boogaard, Reggie Fleming and Rick Martin.
U.S. government data disclosed last fall revealed that the brains of 76 of 79 former NFL players had evidence of CTE. Dave Duerson and Junior Seau, a pair of NFL All-Pro players who played more than a decade in the NFL, both shot themselves in the chest so their brains could be studied after their deaths.
Only this week, Bill Gibbs, a U.S.-based lawyer for the late Steve Montador, the 35-year-old former Chicago Blackhawk who was found dead in his home early Sunday, said he plans to discuss with Montador's family having his brain tested for CTE.
That doctors may now be able to diagnose patients including professional athletes and war veterans, and inform them while they are alive that they have CTE, would be an incredible medical advance.
Bailes is a clinical professor of neurosurgery at the University of Chicago and is also co-director of the NorthShore Neurological Institute in Evanston, Illinois. He has also advised the NFL players' union and the NCAA about concussions.
Read more here: http://www.tsn.ca/talent/medical-breakthrough-prompts-talk-of-testing-active-nhlers-for-cte-1.210725
