Parents Express Concern over Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy
Many parents are increasingly concerned about chronic traumatic encephalopathy. In order to provide insight into this issue, Shawn Love B.S. and Dr. Gary Solomon at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, wrote an informative article: “Pain Physicians’ Corner” published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine in May 2014.
If you are interested in learning more about chronic traumatic encephalopathy, follow along for some helpful information.
What is Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy or CTE?
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a condition developed from repetitive hits to the head or a concussion that can only be diagnosed postmortem. There is no testing that can be done at this point to diagnose CTE. There have been a series of studies conducted in football players that have died with early onset dementia, their brains have been evaluated by a pathologist and found to have abnormal TAU protein. CTE clinically can lead to neuropathic changes and development of a series of neuropsychiatric conditions, behavior changes, and cognitive deficits.
The final diagnosis is made postmortem when the brains are identified and found to have increased TAU protein and widespread neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). In the past, CTE was called punch drunk syndrome. Doctors, such as Ann McKee, and Dr. Bennet Omalu (is most famously known for his lead role in the movie Concussion, which Will Smith was the actor representing Dr. Bennet Omalu). These doctors have suggested that CTE has a clear environmental origin. The groups have proposed that head injury, both concussive and sub-concussive, leads to neuropathic changes and the subsequent development of a series of neuropsychiatric symptoms, behavior changes, and cognitive defects.
What are the symptoms of CTE and when does it start?
In general, CTE is described as comprising a broad set of clinical signs and symptoms including neuropsychiatric and behavioral changes such as depression, mood lability, agitation, impulsive behavior, and aggression, Parkinson’s disease, difficulty speaking, gait abnormalities, and cognitive defects including impairments in memory, attention, and language.
CTE has been described as a syndrome that manifests within one to two decades after retirement from contact or collision sports. There are some studies that indicate CTE may start as late as 10 to 20 years after retirement.
Are concussions the only cause of an abnormal TAU protein formation in the brain?
The answer is no. There are actually 20 different neuropathic conditions that cause TAU protein aggregation in the brain including Alzheimer’s disease, which is dementia, front temporal dementia, and Lewy body disease, which is another form of dementia. All the brains that have TAU proteins have some type of degenerative brain disease.
Another condition that can cause greater incidence of abnormal TAU protein deposition in the brain has been found in drug abusers, people who abuse opioids. There was a study that looked at opioid abusers less than 40 years of age compared with controlled who are not using opioids, and they found greater incidence of TAU protein deposition in their brains compared to the controlled group, 44% versus 19%, and at parallel findings. They found that more than half, 52%, of the 644 surveyed players (more…)
Anterior Cruciate Ligament, often referred to as ACL injuries, are the most common knee injuries athletes suffer. While an extremely active individual could possibly suffer this type of injury, an ACL tear is most common in athletes. This is because of the stop and start movements associated with sports such as football, basketball, hockey and more. The anterior cruciate ligament is on the inside of the knee joint and supports the shin bone. The ligament, knee, and shin work together to prevent the tibia from sliding out in front of the thigh bone.
physicians are concerned with surgical outcomes in patients with diabetes. Several studies, papers and research has been published on diabetes and surgery. In one example, a doctor wanted to take a closer look at the effects of arthroscopic rotator cuff repair and surgery in individuals with diabetes. Here is what was published in the 
Researchers note that fatty infiltration is one of the most important prognostic factors for anatomic and functional outcomes after rotator cuff surgery. The surgical repair of the torn rotator cuff may not be able to stop or reverse the process of fatty infiltration. Fatty infiltration is when the rotator cuff tendon and muscle turns to fat.
Dr. Stacie Grossfeld, board certified Orthopedic Surgeon and Sports Medicine Physician, enjoys some holiday Christmas tree decorating with her team at Orthopaedic Specialists. She chose a red and gold theme for her Christmas tree decorating. In order to find the decorations, Dr. Grossfeld went to Joanne’s Fabrics and Michael’s and looked for pretty decorations that fit the tree.
Angel McDowell works in the insurance and billing department at Orthopaedic Specialists. She chose a silver and blue theme for her Christmas tree decorations. Talking about how she chose her decorations, Angel explains: “Me and my son Abram (age 13) were shopping and he helped me pick out the colors for my tree, which was nice.”
Angel Porter is a physician assistant at Orthopedic Specialist PLLC in Louisville, Kentucky. She chose a Star Wars theme for her Christmas Tree decorating. Talking about how she found the decorations, Angel explains: “I raided my boys’ (James, 11 and Noah, 9) rooms and used their legos for the trees. I also found the ribbon at home. The hardest part of making the tree was tying the ribbon at the top. Figuring that out took a while!”
Ashley is an X-Ray Tech and Medical Assistant at Orthopaedic Specialists. She chose a Dr. Seuss Theme for her Christmas tree. Ashley enjoys searching Pinterest for good tree decorating ideas and that’s how she settled on the Dr. Seuss theme. After Christmas, she’ll enjoy taking the tree home to her 3 children, ages 5, 8 and 9.
Dorothy Cochran runs the Medical Records Department at Orthopaedic Specialists, and she also serves as the Work Comp Coordinator and Appointment Scheduler. When she started figuring out how to decorate her Christmas tree, she went to Hobby Lobby.
Heather Hardiman is a Medical Receptionist at Orthopaedic Specialists in Louisville Kentucky. She decorated her Christmas tree according to the style that she likes in her home. She used stars, berries, snowmen and woodsy ornaments.
On the 22nd of November, YMCA of Greater Louisville Chairman, Brad Smith, and Mayor Greg Fisher held a community Thanksgiving breakfast. Dr. Grossfeld attended the event at the Galt House Hotel to learn more about the growth of the Louisville community. The event included a delicious buffet and a performance by America’s Got Talent finalists – Linkin’ Bridge.
higher incidence of orthopedic conditions associated with age including osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.
Sports injuries, such as concussions and injured Anterior Cruciate Ligaments (ACLs), are common occurrences across a wide variety of sports. While both injuries are well known, Sport Injury FAQs are helpful in learning about cause, prevention, and treatment among athletes.
Researchers highlighted background data noting that there is concern right now and actually discussion that the ulnar collateral ligament injury is almost an epidemic affecting pitchers at all levels of baseball from recreational high school players to the pro pitchers. The ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery has been reported to impose an average of 17 to 21 months away from the MLB competition and possibly diminish their performance. If there is a way to curtail the current trend and protect the integrity of the elbow joint in pitchers, that would be the best form of treatment would be prevention.
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