Do Sports Concussions Cause Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy?

Football and other contact sports are said to increase the risk of the debilitating neurological condition, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is often linked to concussions and characterized by the build-up of abnormal substances in the brain called tau proteins. But according to a new study published in Neuropsychology Review, researchers are reporting only limited evidence showing a link between sports concussions and an increased risk of late-life cognitive and neuropsychiatric impairments: “One cannot deny that boxing and other contact sports can potentially result in some type of injury to the brain. There currently are no carefully controlled data, however, to indicate a definitive association between sport-related concussion and increased risk for late-life cognitive and neuropsychiatric impairment of any form.”  Click here to read the full article.