Playing football young can lead to emotional and cognitive issues
Specifically, subjects whose posthumous brain donations were part of the UNITE study had their family histories examined. The earlier they started playing, the earlier their symptoms would appear:
"...the researchers discovered for those players who had CTE, every one year younger the individual started playing tackle football predicted the earlier onset of behavioral and mood problems by 2.5 years and cognitive problems by 2.4 years."
https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/30/health/youth-football-cte-study/index.ht…
April 30th, 2018 at 10:52 PM ^
I think that we need this study to be done.
And not just for Football. I wrestled and did Judo for about 15 years. I've heard about the soccer studies and CTE.
I'm wondering if there is a study out there with people who don't do any sports vs. people who do sports, and then correlate CTE across those lines.
There isn't. That's why this is, at this point, something that is meaningless from which to draw conclusions (like many are).
... not all CTE / Concussion studies are what you say... This study has issues but "nothing to see here" isn't one of them.
There are disclaimers for informant reporting. The datasets are small. Would you rather these data weren't reported? There is a far greater economic and social pressure to suppress this data than to misreport it.
Can you back that down Mr. Beeks? or better yet up?
Something tells me you won't though... hmm... I've read this before.
April 30th, 2018 at 10:56 PM ^
April 30th, 2018 at 11:16 PM ^
Yes, this article is part of a global and/or Deep State conspiracy to skew reporting on brain research that will eventually prove Trump collusion with Russia. You got them.
If you're serious about looking for better general-interest reporting about science, and I do have some criticisms about the quality science reporting generally (speaking as a former biomedical researcher here), NPR tends to be a little more careful and thorough about presenting alternative explanations for observed data (see the article I linked to previously in the thread).
NYT has very solid science reporting but I'm still a little wary of chief correspondent's Gina Kolata's bylines because of some screwy reporting she did about 15 years ago on angiogenesis (remember that? when all 3 major newsmagazines ran cover stories that said "Cancer Cure!!"?).
As far as TV reporting, you're not going to find good short-form science reporting, it's too breathlessly dedicated to hyping conclusions for an attention-deficit audience. PBS Newshour has some fantastic long-form segments on health/science. It's sober, thoughtful, and doesn't play the hype card the way commercial television does, but most people don't watch because it requires some attention span.
April 30th, 2018 at 11:32 PM ^
"As far as TV reporting, you're not going to find good short-form science reporting, it's too breathlessly dedicated to hyping conclusions for an attention-deficit audience"
I gave you +1 for this statement alone. This is all news reporting now. I can't even watch it.
"CNN. Is not credible anymore."
One can think this, without meaning what you leapt to with this response:
"Yes, this article is part of a global and/or Deep State conspiracy to skew reporting on brain research that will eventually prove Trump collusion with Russia. You got them."
April 30th, 2018 at 11:01 PM ^
have been dealing with early-onset of dementia due to concussions from football; i myself had at least 5 (concussion)...that i remember...er, ah, kinda remember
i suspect, as is the case w/other diseases and ailments, that heredity factors into suseptibility (of getting CTE, etc)...so i'm hoping for good genes in that regard
the average life expectancy for gladiators in ancient Rome was 27 years...rough sports do take a toll
April 30th, 2018 at 11:17 PM ^
Running headfirst into things hurts your brain. Developing brains are injured even more easily than adult brains. Downstream effects of brain injury are bound to be there, whether they're easily identified or not.
The biggest disconnect I'm seeing with the public debate over the issue is that people are still stuck on concussions per se instead of sub-concussive trauma, despite recent (and well-publicized data) showing that CTE, while not unrelated to concussions, doesn't require concussion(s) to develop.
Primary research article from the journal Brain here
NPR writeup on the above article here
Still much to learn, but the single most important advancement will be the ability to clearly diagnose early CTE via scanning or blood work i/o post-mortem tissue sections. There are some initial successes on that front over the past year (example: looking for blood levels of inflammation marker CCL-11 LINK) but it's not locked down yet.
April 30th, 2018 at 11:17 PM ^
football should not be played before high school
It's clear a lot of us don't have a clear understanding what CTE is or how the those at Boston U believe what causes CTE.
My advice is to read and go to one of the Boston U seminars on CTE or watch one Chris Nowinski seminar on youtube.
We have made our choice as a family after looking at all the avaiable data, everyone has that same right IMO.
Eating food may lead to cancer, diabetuus, and cancer.
There is no greater joy than running full speed into someone, knocking the bejezus out of them, and then hitting the ground. The moment between the two hits is in slow motion and full speed at the same time. All of your worries are gone and your dominance has been asserted.
This CTE stuff sucks. I want my kids to experience that same joy, but it feels irresponsible to let them.