The Causes Of Developing ALS And CTE Athletes in various sports have been diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. Both of these diseases are life threatening, and the chances of living are very slim. Athletes are choosing to play at their own risk, and because of this many of them have died, and are still currently living but have to suffer through the symptoms. Both of these diseases are fatal, and still to this day there is no possible cure that can help people that are suffering from both of these diseases. Both ALS and CTE have known to be fatal, and is the most common death in athletes. ALS and CTE differ from each other, but one thing they have in common is many athletes have died from both …show more content…
Most doctors find that ALS and CTE is developed in their brain between late 20’s to early 30’s and they will not suffer from either of these diseases until their late 30’s. After being diagnosed the average lifespan is 2-5 years. In some cases people have lived up to 10 years, but it is very rare. Males are more common to develop ALS and CTE than females are. Females are more likely to get a concussion than males are because of how the cells are being developed. The four different types of CTE are very similar but differ in some ways. Alzheimer's and Dementia are both diseases that affects the brain, which control thought, memory, and language. Dementia is curable while Alzheimer's is not. With Dementia you can still function, while with Alzheimer's you can not. Parkinson’s and Huntington are also the same but differ in some ways too. Parkinson’s disease is the second most common disease after ALS. Huntington’s is an inherited disease, there is no cure, and is also usually passed down. The symptoms include having trouble controlling movement, muscle spasms, tremors, and shaking constantly. Huntington’s is a disease that is inherited and if a parent has Huntington’s then there is a 50% chance that the child will have Huntington’s …show more content…
Symptoms of concussion include memory loss, erratic behavior, being sensitive to light and noise, blurry vision, ringing in ears, and in some cases vomiting. Most female athletes have had more concussions than males. It usually takes longer for female athletes to recover because the brain is still trying to be developed. A concussion is known as a traumatic brain injury that develops when being hit in the head. Ryan Freel had developed CTE because of getting hit in the head during baseball and outside of baseball. He committed suicide at age 36, because he developed depression and also wanted his brain to be studied. Ryan Freel had developed Dementia. Dementia is a disease where memory can be loss, but you are still able to function. Freel has had more than ten concussions in his playing career. He had developed depression and short term memory loss which is some of the symptoms for CTE. Concussions are another way to develop CTE, but athletes will not know they have been diagnosed with CTE till after they have
A big part of the NFL’s hold on players is their contracts and money. Thousands of young men aspire to be on a professional team, just for the fame, money and title. They are not made aware of the lasting conditions that come with playing football and their everlasting effects. If anything, the NFL has gone out of their way to discredit the newer research that links playing football with CTE. CTE stands for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is a disease that has the same effects as dementia and Alzheimer’s, except that CTE leaves tau protein deposition in distinctive areas of the brain, which is what separates CTE from dementia and Alzheimer’s....
On December 1, 2012, a patient by the name of John Dough walks into the medical assistant’s office. The patient is five foot 11 inches tall, currently he is 70 years old and weighs approximately 211 pounds. The patient has no known allergies does not smoke and has a relatively clean health record. After filling out the patient medical history forms, the patient is seen by the doctor. The patient explains to the doctor that lately he has had trouble lifting object he would not normally have trouble with, as well as walking short distances, and being very fatigued. After further examination the patient explains how he recently found a tick on his back and removed it, but now there is a red bullseye on his back. The physician suggests a blood sample be taken and sent to the laboratory. To help with weakness and fatigue he recommends the patient to get a good nights sleep and drink plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration. He also wants the patient to limit medication intake that could contribute to fatigue such as cold and allergy medicines and make sure to finish all daily exercising three to four hours before bed. The patient schedules a check up two weeks later.
A concussion is defined as temporary unconsciousness caused by a blow to the head or a violent shock from a heavy blow. The force transmitted to the head causes the brain to hit the skull, which causes the brain to swell. The symptoms of a concussion can appear immediately after contact or they may subtle and may not appear right away. The symptoms of a concussion can vary in length. There are many different symptoms to a concussion: "Common symptoms after a concussive traumatic brain injury are headache, loss of memory (amnesia) and confusion" (Mayo). Other symptoms that may be involved with a concussion include loss of consciousness, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, slurred speech, and fatigue. There are also symptoms that may not occur immediately, but may be delayed hours or days after. These symptoms include difficulty concentrating, sensitivity to light, and sleep disturbances. An athlete should ...
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, commonly referred to as ALS, is a disease that can alter the daily life of a human in monumental and unending ways. In one of her articles about ALS, Caroline Ingre (2015) states that the disease is a “fatal neurodegenerative disorder” and further supports this by noting how the disease is marked by the degeneration in motor neurons in the brain, brainstem, and spinal cord (p. 181). This basically means that
The very first step to solving the concussion problem is to train coaches how to spot a concussion. The most common symptoms are: headache, sensitivity to light and/or sound, trouble remembering plays, dizziness, nausea, and balance problems. Players suspected of having a concussion must be removed from the game or practice immediately. A concussion is described as a “mild traumatic brain injury” because it is not usually life threatening if treated properly. That name does not indicate the possible consequences if an athlete returns to play too soon.
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease attributed to single, sporadic, or repetitive brain trauma, including concussions and subconcussive hits (Baugh et al., 2012; Wortzel et al., 2013). This disease was originally referred to as dementia pugilistica, and nicknamed “punch drunk,” because individuals suffering from this disorder would present symptoms that were similar to someone’s mannerisms while being intoxicated (Wortzel et al., 2013). This “drunken” behavior is thought to be attributed to the cognitive, mood, and behavioral alterations as a result of the repetitive hits to the brain over an extended period of time. Because individuals suffering from this disease are often exposed to conditions that allow them to sustain blows to the head multiple times, the populations most often examined in these studies are athletes (football, boxing, rugby) and/or individuals in the military (McKee et al., 2009). Individuals can be symptom free for several years (Baugh et al., 2012). The onset of symptoms are sometimes seen about eight to ten years after an individual retires from their sport, which roughly equates to someone aged thirty to fifty yeas old (Baugh et al., 2012; Wortzel et al., 2013; Karantzoulis and Randolph, 2013). As with all diseases, symptoms can range from mild to severe. Researchers have found a positive correlation between the number of brain injuries sustained during a length of time playing a sport and the severity of symptoms (McKee et al., 2009).
A concussion is a head injury that can have damaging effects on athletes of all sports and ages. Concussions are regularly caused by a hard hit to the head or body that causes the brain to shake inside the skull. While there is fluid within the skull to protect the brain, when an athlete is hit hard enough, the brain moves to the point of hitting the skull, causing a head injury otherwise known as a concussion (“Concussions”). Terry Adirim, a medical doctor who writes articles for Clinical Pediatrician Emergency Magazine, says that an individual may have many different symptoms after receiving a concussion. Symptoms can include headache, nausea, dizziness, loss of consciousness, and vomiting, but each of these symptoms do not necessarily happen with every concussion.
As CTE progresses, it can cause memory loss, impulsive and erratic behavior, difficulty with balance, impaired judgment, and behavioral disturbances including aggression, depression, and increased suicidality. Ultimately, CTE progresses to the onset of dementia. A similar accumulation of tau protein is also seen in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. CTE symptoms can manifest months or years after brain trauma, and a definitive diagnosis of CTE can only be made after death by analyzing brain tissue at autopsy. The CDC estimates that up to 3.8 million concussions occur each year, with up to ten percent of high school athletes suffering from post-concussion syndrome.
High impact sports such as hockey and football are extremely dangerous. People who suffer from concussions can be affected by brain damage. Concussions are often called an "invisible injury", this is because you can not see the injury on the outside of the body. Side effects from a concussion can include; headaches, change in sleep patterns, dizziness, nausea, blurred vision, loss of consciousness, depression, mood swings, memory loss, loss of concentration, and a slowed reaction time. (Virginia Board of Education Guidelines
That being said this is the most prominent disorder within athletes, the disease has no symptoms which is why is becoming such a prominent disease among athletes such as NFL players. Recent research has suggested several mechanisms for brain injury in the setting of repeated trauma. Neurofibrillary tangles in CTE have a characteristic perivascular distribution, grouped around small intracortical vessels (Mckee 1999). This finding suggests that trauma may damage the blood-brain barrier, releasing neurotoxins that promote the formation of neurofibrillary tangles around blood vessels. In a
Where and how this deadly disease originated is unknown, but it was first identified in 1869, by the noted French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot. ALS is not contagious, but research is still vague on the cause of the disease. Today, there are three recognized forms of ALS: genetic, sporadic, and Guamanian. The genetic form of ALS appears to be inherited or passed down within a family, and about ten percent of ALS patients have a family history of the disease. An abnormal gene has been located in about half these families, but the cause of the remaining half is still unknown. The next, most common form, is sporadic ALS. These patients have no family history of disease, and the cause of their coming down with ALS is a mystery. Finally, is Guamanian ALS, called this because a high percentage of cases occur in the Pacific Islands near Guam.
The world of sports is filled with great memories, grand moments and at times complete mayhem. There are moments like hitting a Home Run in game 7 of the World Series or memories of scoring an overtime goal during the Stanley Cup finals. However, there are also incredibly low moments when mayhem occurs such as an action or incident that results in a concussion. An injury such as a concussion can ruin your sports career or potentially your ability to function normally in the future. Concussions are caused by blunt force trauma to the head, a fall or an injury that shakes the brain inside the skull. Recovering from a concussion can take weeks, months or even years to heal. For some, it can impair your mental or mobility functions for life.
In 2005 Dr. Bennet Omalu first discovered CTE In the Brain Of the retired player Mike webster, after he passed in 2002, at the age of 50. However CTE has been identified, there is no way to diagnose it in living individuals. In a study done by the National Institutes of Health, and the Concussion Research Funding, they came to the conclusion that, “Current tests cannot reliably identify concussions, and no technique reliably differentiates individuals who will recover quickly, suffer long-term symptoms, or develop chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)” (NIH, NFL, and Concussion Research Funding). Therefore, currently there is no way to treat or identify whether or not a person has CTE officially until they have died. Doctors only way of identifying if a person has CTE is to diagnose based off their symptoms. CTE symptoms vary based on the severity of the case, However according to researchers at the CTE Center at Boston University School of Medicine; “CTE is associated with “memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, impulse-control problems, aggression, depression, and, eventually, progressive dementia” (Karaim). Theses Symptoms have a dramatic effect on the everyday lives of the people that have CTE. With nearly anywhere from 1.6 million to 3.8 million concussions occur each year, leading professional athletes and
Concussions and the effect they have on people ranging from the young to the old has become a very popular discussion in recent years. Generally people watch sports for entertainment and then there are those who engage in high impact sports from a very young age on. The people at home know how fun playing in a sport is, however they may not know the brutal consequences for some participating in that sport. Injuries to the brain are a main concern among those in the world of high impact sports. Football, soccer, wrestling, lacrosse, and rugby are among sports that athletes receive injuries in. The injuries vary from sprains, to fractures, to torn MCL or ACL, and bruised organs. Concussions are a severe type of injury endured by athletes in the sports world and this life changing injury is one that people are becoming more aware of.
I just want to start off by saying the Paul was such an inspiration, and it was an honor to hear him speak about ALS. Before hearing him speak, all I really knew about ALS is that it affected the muscles. I never even knew that it was such a deadly disease. It was shocking to hear that the average life expectancy for someone with ALS is only 2-5 years. It was such great news to hear that Paul is going on to his 4th year, and was only recently in need of a wheelchair. While it is unfortunate that Paul was diagnosed with ALS, it is fortunate that his disease is slowly progressing. Some of the stories he shared about his friends made me realize that some people may take a turn for the worse, only several months after being diagnosed. It was wonderful to hear Paul say that he really thinks he will surpass the odds and make it to the 5th year. I really hope that Paul is one of the lucky ones, who are diagnosed with ALS, and live past the life expectancy.