
Aaron Hernandez Found to Have Severe C.T.E - coloneltcb
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/09/21/sports/aaron-hernandez-cte-brain.html?_r=0&referer=
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smaili
> C.T.E., or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, can be diagnosed only
> posthumously.

Just thinking out loud, does anyone know if this could ever be diagnosed while
the person is alive? I'm not very familiar with the disease but just knowing
you have it while you're alive would give people at least an opportunity to
try and do something about it before it's too late.

~~~
justboxing
> does anyone know if this could ever be diagnosed while the person is alive?

I don't believe that's possible (yet) but the good news is that several
Research Institutes are said to be conducting on going research into
diagnosing C.T.E while the person is still alive..

> At this time CTE can only be diagnosed after death by postmortem
> neuropathological analysis. Right now there is no known way to use MRI, CT,
> or other brain imaging methods to diagnose CTE. The CTE Center is actively
> conducting research aimed at learning how to diagnose CTE during life. Find
> out more about our research here.

Source: Boston University’s Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) Research
Center => [https://www.bu.edu/cte/about/frequently-asked-
questions/](https://www.bu.edu/cte/about/frequently-asked-questions/)

~~~
toomuchtodo
This article indicated Boston University is making progress using PET imaging
[1].

[1] [http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/i-team/new-brain-scan-
leap...](http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/i-team/new-brain-scan-leap-cte-
research-article-1.2636640)

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purple-again
Anyone know if there is a similar rash of problems or study on CTE with
professional boxers? Surely they face comparable levels of head trauma
throughout their training/career.

~~~
criddell
I have read that CTE is more closely correlated with a high number of smaller
(sub-concussive) hits than any number of concussive hits. Do boxers fit this
profile?

After football, I think soccer players might be next in line for CTE risk.

~~~
IkmoIkmo
> Do boxers fit this profile?

Uhh well yeah, much more than soccer players that's for sure.

You typically throw around 50 punches in a round, with about 35% landing,
typically more than half are thrown to the head, and punches which don't land
(i.e., don't count in boxing rules) typically still land on the guard in front
of your head and cause an impact on the head nonetheless.

In a typical 12 round fight or equivalent sparring match you tend to get hit
about 200 times or so, i.e. take 100 punches to the head from people who punch
for a profession.

If you've never been in a boxing gym, it's absolutely ridiculous how much
harder a boxer punches versus a really strong and tough looking guy with no
boxing training. In that sense it's no different from someone who's been
playing a guitar for 5 years, and someone who hasn't for a single second, what
they can produce is world's apart, despite punching being a seemingly natural
thing anyone can do. Getting hit by a pro 100 times in about half an hour (12
rounds of 3 minutes) is absolutely terrible, and there's lots of research that
shows this (as well as many famous cases of brain damage).

The top professionals fight about 40 or so times as a pro, but can easily rack
up 100-200 fights during their amateur careers, all of which are preceded by
by tons of sparring. Typically top fighters spar about 150 rounds prior to a
pro match of 12 rounds. All in all, it's probably safe to assume a
professional boxer will fight a couple thousand rounds in his life, in each of
which he gets hit with on average at least 10 hard punches to the head from a
professional puncher. It's an absolutely savage sport, it's hard to reconcile
that with my love for the sport. (the level of this sacrifice and sports glory
are so intertwined though, they make for legendary rivalries and careers)

Boxers wear protection but it doesn't really help for brain damage. Gloves
were invented not for protection of the head, but rather the hands, as the
hands tend to break quickly. Head gear in sparring protects a little, but that
too is partly against cuts.

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Clubber
He only played 3 seasons in the NFL. I agree with the findings that continuous
head trauma causes CTE, but could other things cause it as well? For someone
with only 3 seasons to have that severe a case of CTE is cause for concern
that there might be other things that cause it.

~~~
adamnemecek
You are ignoring the probably like 10 years of football he played before going
to NFL.

~~~
Clubber
Yes, intentionally. Each level gets much faster and the players get bigger and
momentum = mass * velocity. I believe most of the CTE cases involve NFL
players and it is odd that someone could have such a severe case of CTE with
only 3 years of NFL. Florida was a really fast and strong team when he played,
but a fraction of the NFL speed and size.

~~~
adamnemecek
Cte is found amongst high school and college players as well.

~~~
Clubber
Well, if the only way to detect CTE is after death, unless the player killed
themselves young, they would have to wait years and years until after the
person played in high school. With that much time passed, many variables are
introduced.

It's concerning to me because I played in high school.

~~~
pejrich
Unfortunately people die in HS. So sure, if someone played HS ball, then
stopped playing, lived until 60, and got CTE, it would be hard to say it was
from HS ball, however when someone dies at 18, and is positive for CTE, that's
pretty definitive.

I read somewhere that even one concussion can triple the likelihood of someone
suffering from depression later in life. That's pretty scary stuff. Our heads
are not meant to be banged against things, so I would think that goes double
for a developing brain.

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adamnemecek
There's a hypothesized link between C.T.E. and violence.

[http://www.traumaticbraininjury.net/does-chronic-
traumatic-e...](http://www.traumaticbraininjury.net/does-chronic-traumatic-
encephalopathy-really-make-people-more-violent/)

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swang
1\. Murder sucks. CTE sucks. NFL sucks.

2\. His girlfriend should not get a single dime. She was complicit in dumping
evidence for Hernandez. I don't know how it would work but their daughter
should be the only one who gets to touch any money from this case.

3\. Someone tell me otherwise but I thought initially the reason Hernandez
killed himself was because he thought that his death would payout some money
to his girlfriend and his daughter.

4\. Going back I don't see any severe head injuries that could have led to
concussions. Not saying CTE is impossible but I wonder if the NFL could argue
that...

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lazyasciiart
Severe head injuries are not required for concussions.

~~~
travmatt
I've heard of people getting small concussions from riding jet skis across
choppy water

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joekrill
At this point the surprising headline should be when NFL players are found to
NOT have C.T.E. I really don't understand how the NFL is getting away with
this so easily. I guess they have good PR? People just like football so much
that they are willing to ignore it?

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slamdance
the legal and medical question that comes up is "when did it start?" Pee-wee
football? high school? college? certainly _before_ they get to the NFL. While
I don't defend them for hiding the issue for so long, at this point, now that
its common knowledge, its pretty much like boxing or MMA. Its people's choice
to do it. The consequences are plain to see, and still they continue.

Others may be in the situation that football (and the incurring injuries) are
all they have, or all they know and that maybe its too late to turn back or
'fix' the problem. its not _just_ the NFL. It's also the NCAA which makes far
more money off these kids than the NFL.

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nxsynonym
>>Those who died after the settlement was approved in April 2015 are not
eligible for an award, but Hernandez’s family could argue for an exemption.

An exemption should only be made if the money goes to the families of the
victims.

Why does the family of a murderer get a monetary reward? Even if it is proven
the the CTE somehow cause him to commit the murders (which is a long shot),
why would his family reap the benefits of the settlement?

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x0x0
Because his daughter, by being deprived of her father's presence and income,
was also hurt by the actions that were quite possibly induced by the CTE he
suffered. And while no one can know CTE caused Hernandez to kill people, it is
known that CTE causes cognitive impairment, impulsive behavior, and emotional
instability; aggression is a suspected symptom [1]. I don't think the idea
that CTE made Hernandez' bad behavior more likely and/or more severe is easy
to dismiss out of hand.

[1] [http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/chronic-
trauma...](http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/chronic-traumatic-
encephalopathy/basics/symptoms/con-20113581)

~~~
kolbe
I'm not sure how employable Aaron was without the NFL.

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x0x0
Other sports perhaps? He really was a phenomenal athlete. His seasons with the
patriots really did suggest he'd be an all time great TE.

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Clubber
He could lose a bunch of weight and lose to Floyd Mayweather. :)

