What is Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)?

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Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a degenerative brain disease that can occur in people with a history of repetitive head impacts, such as contact and collision sport athletes, combat military service members, and others. The repetitive head impacts can result in symptomatic concussions or the more common subconcussive trauma, i.e., blows to the head without symptoms of a concussion. These repetitive head impacts result in rapid acceleration and deceleration of the brain inside the skull, and stretching, twisting, and shearing of the long connections (axons) between the brain cells (neurons). It is thought that these repetitive injuries start a cascade of changes in the brain, including the buildup of an abnormal form of a protein called tau. This, in turn, eventually leads to the slow, progressive destruction of brain tissue and associated changes in cognitive functioning, mood, and behavior. When these changes become severe enough, they lead to dementia (i.e., memory and other cognitive and behavioral impairments that get in the way of day-to-day living and independence). The symptoms of CTE often do not begin for years or decades following the cessation of the repetitive head impacts (e.g., end of playing football or boxing).

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