Post by Confused Mark Wahlberg on Feb 1, 2018 21:07:10 GMT -5
Ex-NFL player fighting brain trauma: It's not only athletes who get CTE
9 hours ago
Donna Freydkin
John Hiscock
Imagine just doing your job — and winding up with what your doctors tell you is incurable, degenerative brain disease.
It's called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), believed to be caused by repeated blows to the head. And it’s a danger well-known to former NFL player Mike Adamle, 68, who retired from the Chicago Bears in 1977. He segued to a career in front of the camera, as a sportscaster and host, until he began having seizures in 1999.
According to his wife, Kim Adamle, a doctor told him a brain scan suggested a suspected football injury. In 2016, he had a neurological assessment, his wife said. Doctors told him that he had "all the symptoms concurrent with what we know about CTE."
But Adamle refuses to sit on the sidelines. He’s launching a national support network for suspected victims and their families called the Mike Adamle Project: Rise Above. It's under the umbrella of the nonprofit Concussion Legacy Foundation, which was co-founded by Dr. Robert Cantu, a leader in CTE research. Adamle's also pledged to donate his brain to the CTE bank for research.
His goal: "To show former players there are things you can do," he told Megyn Kelly TODAY.
He has a motto. "You know what I am? I'm a survivor," he said. "You have to be your own survivor."
Now he wants to share his hard-won knowledge with others dealing with the same confounding, life-changing issues. Kim Adamle's mission is to share their knowledge and journey with others.
"We can't stop the CTE. We can do other things to promote other brain growth," Kim Adamle told Megyn Kelly TODAY.
Due to a lack of support from federal agencies, it's become crucial for families facing the disease to support each other and share knowledge, Cantu said.
"We really don't know the full extent on numbers of people that are suffering from the condition," Cantu said. "It's also not just confined to athletes. Anyone with repetitive head injuries is vulnerable to CTE."
Most often, CTE is linked to football and its impact on the brain; there's also a focus now on how it can impact developing brains in children. In January there were two new state bills calling for a ban on tackle football in kids under 12. But other sports aren’t immune: CTE has been found in boxers, soccer players, hockey players and military veterans.
9 hours ago
Donna Freydkin
John Hiscock
Imagine just doing your job — and winding up with what your doctors tell you is incurable, degenerative brain disease.
It's called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), believed to be caused by repeated blows to the head. And it’s a danger well-known to former NFL player Mike Adamle, 68, who retired from the Chicago Bears in 1977. He segued to a career in front of the camera, as a sportscaster and host, until he began having seizures in 1999.
According to his wife, Kim Adamle, a doctor told him a brain scan suggested a suspected football injury. In 2016, he had a neurological assessment, his wife said. Doctors told him that he had "all the symptoms concurrent with what we know about CTE."
But Adamle refuses to sit on the sidelines. He’s launching a national support network for suspected victims and their families called the Mike Adamle Project: Rise Above. It's under the umbrella of the nonprofit Concussion Legacy Foundation, which was co-founded by Dr. Robert Cantu, a leader in CTE research. Adamle's also pledged to donate his brain to the CTE bank for research.
His goal: "To show former players there are things you can do," he told Megyn Kelly TODAY.
He has a motto. "You know what I am? I'm a survivor," he said. "You have to be your own survivor."
Now he wants to share his hard-won knowledge with others dealing with the same confounding, life-changing issues. Kim Adamle's mission is to share their knowledge and journey with others.
"We can't stop the CTE. We can do other things to promote other brain growth," Kim Adamle told Megyn Kelly TODAY.
Due to a lack of support from federal agencies, it's become crucial for families facing the disease to support each other and share knowledge, Cantu said.
"We really don't know the full extent on numbers of people that are suffering from the condition," Cantu said. "It's also not just confined to athletes. Anyone with repetitive head injuries is vulnerable to CTE."
Most often, CTE is linked to football and its impact on the brain; there's also a focus now on how it can impact developing brains in children. In January there were two new state bills calling for a ban on tackle football in kids under 12. But other sports aren’t immune: CTE has been found in boxers, soccer players, hockey players and military veterans.
Kim said he's become moody, erratic and forgetful, and has trouble completing such routine tasks as clearing the table and washing the dishes, or using a remote control.
“And then there are times of just really deep depression. Where Mike would be sitting, in some deep place. And that's so unlike Mike,” Kim Adamle said.
And according to Kim, based on MRIs, it’s getting worse.
www.today.com/health/ex-nfl-player-fighting-brain-trauma-it-s-not-only-t122053
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