What can I do to treat CTE?

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There are no medications available yet that can prevent, stop, or slow down the accumulation of the abnormal tau protein and associated destruction of brain tissue in CTE. However, several new medications aimed at just that are being studied in various phases of clinical trials for other tauopathies. There is hope that one or more of these medications will be approved as an effective treatment to modify the disease course. In the meantime, there are effective treatments for many of the symptoms associated with CTE, such as reducing symptoms of depression, anxiety, irritability, and poor emotional regulation. There are treatments to improve attention and provide some boost to memory. There are ways to reduce out-of-control behavior. These treatments may take some trial and error to find the most effective. The most important thing is being aware of your symptoms and actively seeking ways to improve them. There are several changes to one’s lifestyle that have been demonstrated through research studies to provide some improvement of symptoms as well as maintain overall brain health. These include the following:

Exercise: routine aerobic exercise that gets your heart beating faster (such as going on a brisk walk, using a stationary bicycle) for 20-30 minutes several days each week.

Mediterranean Diet: follow a diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, nuts and legumes, olives and extra virgin olive oil, fish high in omega-3 fatty acids (e.g., salmon), and little or no red meat.

Reduce Vascular Disease Risk: prevent or control diabetes, high blood pressure, and/or high (bad) cholesterol (what’s good for the heart is good for the brain!).

Intellectual Stimulation: keeping one’s mind active by doing new things in new ways, such as starting a new hobby or rekindling an old one, doing activities that require multiple ways of thinking or responding (complexity is great), trying out new recipes or reading a new genre of book, doing crossword puzzles (or Sudoku or other word games) but try new types of puzzles and games and don’t just keep doing what has become routine.

Social Networks: retain old social groups and friendships and/or build new ones, interacting with people (preferably in person) on a regular basis for social and fun purposes.