Infographic 6.3: Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy

The introduction reads as follows: Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease caused by a single or repeated blow to the head. Others who experience head trauma (Maroon et al., 2015; McKee et al., the injury, include changes to memory, emotions, thinking, and personality. CTE is somewhat similar to other neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s in that it can impair memory, movement, and the ability to plan and carry out everyday tasks (McKEE, et al., 2013). An image at the left shows a football player being tackled. The caption reads as follows: In 2012, after 20 seasons as an NFL player, Junior Seau committed suicide at age 43. In the years leading to his death, Seau's family noticed a change in his thinking, personality, and enthusiasm for the game. Impulsive gambling, alcoholism and violence became the new conversation around the man once known as a beloved philanthropist (FAINARU-WADA, 2013 FEBRUARY 15). Upon his death, his brain showed the hallmarks of CTE (NINDS, 2013 JANUARY 10). At the center is an image of two football players helmets in contact, with an overlaid graphic of the brain at the right. In the graphic, an arrow curving down follows the curve of the helmet. Two arrows curving down and up follow the curve of the brain. At the right is an image of a female soccer player waiting for a ball to fall on her head. The caption reads as follows: Retired soccer star Brandi Chastain has announced she will donate her brain to research. Chastain believes this will be a bigger legacy than her goal-winning shot in the 1999 World Cup. Like many soccer players, Chastain advocates the banning of headers in youth soccer. (BRANCH, 2016 MARCH). A frame is titled “The Progression of CTE,” and shows four images with four descriptions as follows:

• Stage 1: Tau protein accumulates locally in the cortex. Symptoms: headaches, and difficulty maintaining focus. The image shows a slice of pale yellow brain tissue with a dark patch circled.
• Stage 2: The damage spreads to surrounding areas. Symptoms: short-term memory impairment, mood swings, depression, explosive temper, and continued headaches and trouble focusing. The image shows a slice of pale yellow brain tissue with a several dark patches scattered through the tissue.
• Stage 3: Damage continues to spread, reaching areas such as the hippocampus, amygdala, and brainstem. Symptoms: memory loss, difficulty planning and carrying out tasks, “visuospatial abnormalities,” and ongoing difficulties with mood and attention. The image shows a slice of pale yellow brain tissue with several dark areas at the top and bottom edges of the tissue.
• Stage 4: Widespread damage across many regions of the brain, including the medial temporal lobe, hypothalamus, and thalamus. Symptoms: worsening of existing symptoms, along with language difficulties and paranoia. Severe memory loss. The image shows a slice of light brown brain tissue with a patchy appearance. A text frame at the bottom reads as follows:

How does CTE differ from other neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s? Symptoms associated with CTE typically present around age 40, while those of Alzheimer’s generally appear around 60. Changes in thinking, cognition, and personality are common symptoms of CTE, while Alzheimer's is typically associated with memory problems (FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS, n.d). However, emerging research suggests that behavioral changes and “neuropsychiatric symptoms” (depression or anxiety, for example) may signal the beginning of the disease process in Alzheimer's patients (DONOVAN et al., 2014; ISMAIL, 2016).