CTE

• CTE

  chronic traumatic encephalopathy
• CTE

  result of head traumas (concussions, blows to the head)
• CTE definition

  a progressive, degenerative and fatal brain disease linked to repeated blows to the head
• result of CTE

  • behavioural problems
  • personality changes
  • deficits in thinking
• what causes CTE

  repeated injuries to the sections of nerve cells that conduct electrical impulses affecting communication between cells, resulting in cell death
• Tau protein clumps result of CTE

  people with CTE appear to have higher level of tua due to tau seperating from the cytoskeleton and starts to clump up or form tangles in brain cells
• Tau protein

  substance that in normal amounts, helps provide structural supports to brain neurons
• abnormal amounts of tau protein

  cause cells to become ineffective and lose their ability to function

  • abnormal amounts of tau protein in brain cells eventually leads to dementia
• abnormal amounts of tau protein
• stages of CTE

  1. headaches, loss of attention, mild memory
  2. anxiety, depression, lack of impulse control
  3. cognitive impairments, problems with executive functioning(planning, organisation, memory loss)
  4. cognitive impairments in everyday life (dementia)
• symptoms of CTE

  starts with: confusion, mood disturbance

  progresses to: speech difficulty, motor decline
• diagnoses of CTE

  • hard to diagnose as symptoms are similar to degenerative conditions
  • testing of brain tissue (autopsies)to see if there is evidence of degenerative and deposits of tau proteins and other proteins in the brain
• treatments of CTE

  • behavioural therapy to deal with mood swings
  • pain management to relieve discomfort
  • memory exercise to strengthen recall ability