New test of deceased NFL players reveals 96 percent suffered from brain disease
A new study from the nation's largest brain bank found that 87 out of 91 former NFL players suffered from degenerative brain disease, underscoring the link between football and traumatic brain injury. PBS reports researchers with the Department of Veterans Affairs and Boston University identified the disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy — known commonly as CTE — in 96 percent of NFL players they've examined, and 79 percent of football players overall.
The research also identified the key difference between brain trauma and concussions as the manner in which a player is hit. While one devastating collision can leave a player concussed, it is "the repeat, more minor head trauma" that happens on every down that may pose the greatest risk, PBS reports. Forty percent of the subjects who tested positive for CTE were linemen, whose job description requires them to collide with the opposing team's linemen on every single play.
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