While brain injury prevention in sports has largely focused on concussions, a groundbreaking study revealed that the development and severity of CTE are associated with the duration of play and the cumulative force of all repetitive head impacts.

In a study published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease Reports, researchers write that “this is the first report of a potential treatment modality to mitigate symptoms of Possible CTE.” The study is a case-series report of four former football players (3 professionals) who met the NIH criteria for Possible CTE and were treated with transcranial photobiomodulation (tPBM), a specific kind of light therapy.

In October 2023, Willie Stewart et al. published a paper in Acta Neuropathologica demonstrating an association between the development of CTE and the length of a person’s rugby career.

A study in Neurology Advisor found that for active and retired professional fighters exposed to repetitive head impacts, blood plasma measurements of the biomarkers GFAP and NfL “may help identify those who are at risk for progressive regional brain atrophy and cognitive decline.”

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently acknowledged that there is a causal link between repeated blows to the head and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

In an interview, RJ discusses his potential CTE and his positive experience as a participant in a University of Utah photobiomodulation (light therapy) study. RJ played high school and college football, experiencing repetitive head impacts and multiple concussions.

A study found that former college football players are at “increased risk for degenerative brain diseases,” and reported cognitive impairment diagnoses, recurrent headaches, and cardiovascular disease at higher rates than an age-matched control group.

A study investigated the prevalence of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and dementia in former NFL players ages 50+. The authors found significant disparities in the rate of self-reported MCI and dementia diagnoses between the study participants (who had spent at least one year in the NFL) and national incidence estimates. Alarmingly, almost 23% of participants aged 50-60 reported MCI.

A Washington Post article by James Ludden and Eben Novy-Williams discusses the impacts of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) in sports. They also point out inconsistencies in the public’s reaction to CTE risk.

In a study published in Annals of Neurology, authors Jesse Mez et al. examined the brains of deceased athletes for evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and found that the risk of CTE approximately doubled for every 2.6 years spent playing American football.