Identifying Signs of Chronic Brain Injury

Through a new brain-imaging technology, eight former pro football players learned this year that they have signs of the degenerative brain disorder chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a condition that previously could be determined only after death. The new technology may help quantify the risks of repetitive blows to the head. While a brain autopsy remains the only way to officially diagnose CTE, this new method for identifying signs of CTE in living brains is based on a positron emission tomography (PET) scans and use of a radioactive compound that, when injected intravenously, attaches to tau proteins, the main indicator for CTE, as well as amyloid proteins. “For the first time, we can see the footprint of prior brain injury, especially the minor and repetitive injuries, and know when there is injury accruing in the brain,” says Julian Bailes, MD, FAANS. Click here to read the full article.