Sports Concussion and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy: Finding a Path Forward

Abstract

Sports concussion has recently assumed special importance because of the widely publicized entity of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Identified primarily in former contact sports athletes with repeated mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), CTE is a distinct tauopathy that can only be diagnosed postmortem and for which no specific treatment is available. Although the hazards of repeated mTBI are generally acknowledged, a spirited controversy has developed because a firm link between sports concussion and CTE has been questioned. We briefly review the history of CTE, discuss areas of uncertainty, and offer suggestions to assist neurologists confronting these issues and advance understanding of this vexing problem. ANN NEUROL 2023;93:222-225.

FIGURE 1

Pathognomonic chronic traumatic encephalopathy‐related lesion in the depth of a cerebral cortical sulcus in a 54‐year‐old subject with a history of having played American football. Phospho‐tau immunochemistry was applied to temporal cortex (AT8 antibody). [Color figure can be viewed at www.annalsofneurology.org]