CTE puzzle far from being solved
Nearly 14 years after Bennet Omalu's examination of the brain of former Pittsburgh Steelers great Mike Webster led to the discovery of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, such post-mortem analyses — like Webster's, highlighted in the movie Concussion — remains the only accepted means to detect the debilitating brain disease.
On Wednesday, former quarterbacks Earl Morrall and Ken Stabler became the latest on the list of what is now 90 former NFL players found to be have CTE, according to Boston University researchers. (BU has studied the brains of 94 former NFL players in total.) Meanwhile, researchers continue to work on how to definitively identify CTE in the living, a breakthrough that could also lead to a possible treatment.
“A big source of frustration is that we can’t say whether somebody who has suffered an injury will have long-term consequences,” Nathan Urban, associate director of the University of Pittsburgh Brain Institute, told Paste BN Sports. “There are many people working on this very serious, very difficult problem. We don’t know what to do for treatment in the absence of information. New tools need to be developed.”
Urban said digital imaging of the brain appears to be the most promising. (Research is also underway using biomarkers in the blood that could flag brain injuries.) Using MRIs and other imaging equipment tuned to find a certain protein thought to have a role in CTE has shown promise, although Urban said it could be years before such a method becomes accepted in the medical community.
And once it can be detected in the living, there’s the next hurdle: How do you treat CTE?
“It will take a great effort from medical community,” Ann McKee, chief of neuropathology at the V.A. Boston Healthcare System, told Paste BN Sports. “We don’t understand the mechanics of the injury so we can target them and develop a therapy.”
Urban said those suspected of having CTE are currently treated with drugs meant for Alzheimer’s patients.
“That’s all we can do,” Urban said. “We have no idea if those drugs will have long-term benefits for those with CTE.”