Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a degenerative brain disease caused by repetitive hits

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There’s a range of CTE symptoms, from forgetfulness to violent behaviour.

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The symptoms of CTE creep slowly, taking 8 to 10 years to manifest after initial repeated brain traumas, and can grow worse over decades.

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In stage I, symptoms are subtle: headaches, short-term memory loss, and loss of attention. By stage IV, “most subjects also showed profound loss of attention and concentration, executive dysfunction, language difficulties, explosively, aggressive tendencies, paranoia, depression, gait and visuospatial difficulties,” the paper explains.

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Many former NFL players have CTE?

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In 2017, JAMA published the autopsied brains of 202 former football players, 177, or nearly 90 percent, were diagnosed with CTE.

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Children and School athletes suffer

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Athletes who began playing tackle football before age 12 developed the cognitive and behavior symptoms of CTE 13 years earlier on average than those who started playing later in their teenage years.

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Any progress?

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The league has also made some steps to make the game a bit safer.  Players are immediately removed from the field when there’s a potential concussion. If diagnosed, they can only return to play after completing a five-step protocol, which includes an unspecified period of rest, followed up by supervised exercise, and then examinations not just with the team doctor but also with an independent neurological consultant.