Frequent Brain Concussion Can Lead To Suicide

Frequent Brain Concussion Can Lead To Suicide.
When historic National Football League celebrated linebacker Junior Seau killed himself last year, he had a catastrophic wisdom disorder probably brought on by repeated hits to the head, the US National Institutes of Health has concluded. The NIH scientists who intentional Seau's brain unflinching that he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). They told the Associated Press on Thursday that the cellular changes they apothegm were similar to those found in autopsies of people "with exposure to repetitive head injuries".

The brawl - characterized by impulsivity, depression and erratic behavior - is only diagnosed after death. Seau, 43, who played pro football for 20 seasons before his retirement in 2009, jigger himself in the box last May 2012. His family donated his brain for research.

Some experts feel - but can't prove - that CTE led to Seau's suicide. "Chronic wounding encephalopathy is the thing we have typically seen in a lot of the athletes," said Dr Howard Derman, manager at the Methodist Concussion Center in Houston. "Rather than say 'this caused this,' I expect the observation is that there have been multiple pro football players now who have committed suicide: Dave Duerson, Andre Waters, John Grimsley - although Grimsley was just reported as a gun accident".

Some fight that these players became depressed once they were out of the limelight or because of marital or monetary difficulties, but Derman thinks the evidence goes beyond that."Yes, all that may be universal on - but it still remains that the majority of these players who have committed suicide do have changes of chronic injurious encephalopathy. We feel that that is also playing a role in their mental state".

But, Derman cautioned, "I can't verbalize that chronic traumatic encephalopathy causes players to commit suicide". Chronic shocking encephalopathy was first noticed in boxers who suffered blows to the head over many years. In late years, concerns about CTE have led high school and college programs to regulate hits to the head, and the National Football League prohibits helmet-to-helmet hits.

About 4000 quondam NFL players filed a class-action lawsuit last year claiming the league failed to safeguard players from traumatic brain injuries or warn them about the dangers of concussions. The NFL has said that it never intentionally hid the dangers of concussion from players, and that it is now doing all things it can to protect players against concussions. The collude has given a $30 million research grant to the National Institutes of Health for that purpose.

So "I was not surprised after culture a little about CTE that he had it," Seau's son, Tyler, 23, told the AP. "He did stake so many years at that level. I was more just kind of angry that I didn't do something more and have the awareness to alleviate him more, and now it is too late".

Seau's son said the family was oblivious of the side effects associated with head injuries. "We didn't know his behavior was from direct trauma". Seau's ex-wife, Gina Seau, told ABC News that although her ex-husband was never formally diagnosed with a concussion, he often complained of symptoms that are akin to one. Those symptoms included temper swings, irrational behavior, forgetfulness, insomnia and depression.

Dr Russell Lonser, who led the meditate on on Seau's brain, told the AP that the brain was independently evaluated in a "blind" fashion, connotation it was one of three unidentified brains. "We had the opportunity to get multiple experts involved in a way that they wouldn't be able to later identify his tissue even if they knew he was one of the individuals studied".

Last month, Boston University School of Medicine researchers reported in the register Brain that people with CTE experience four precise phases, beginning with memory disruption and thinking problems and ending with aggression. The Boston researchers said the fit had been diagnosed in 34 former professional players and nine former college football players your domain name. Seau, who was divorced, played with New England, San Diego and Miami during his NFL career.