Jeffrey Kluger

As the National Football League and other pro sports increasingly reckon with the early dementia, mental health issues, suicides and even criminal behavior of former players, the risk of what's known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), is becoming clear.

American Writer

Michael Greger

Though pigs have been proven susceptible to a porcine spongiform encephalopathy, the National Pork Producers Council claims that no naturally occurring cases of 'mad pig' disease have ever been discovered.

American Author

Jeanne Marie Laskas

The new disease was named chronic traumatic encephalopathy, and the NFL fervently and repeatedly denied that such a thing had anything to do with the league or its players.

Bennet Omalu

Chronic means long term. Traumatic means associated with trauma. Encephalopathy means a bad brain.

Nigerian Scientist

Encephalopathy is always related to illness, referring specifically to brain health.

Medical Condition

The term stresses on the malfunctioning aspect of the brain, not physical injuries.

Brain Function

Encephalopathy is not self-diagnosable and requires medical tests to identify.

Diagnosis

Encephalopathy can result from diverse causes, such as toxins or liver failure.

Cause Variation

It is important to specify the subtype like 'alcoholic' when discussing encephalopathy.

Subtype Importance

Encephalopathy does not always stem from infections; other factors like genetics can contribute.

Not Just Infection

 today as I stand in front of you. There is a fear around concussion that does have some evidence behind it. There is information that a repeated history of concussion can lead to early dementia, such as Alzheimer's, and chronic traumatic encephalopathy.