Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is one of the biggest issues in contact sports. The condition has been recognized for generations in boxing, where it was inescapable that some fighters developed a loss of cognitive and/or motor function, and became punch drunk.
Currently, CTE can only be definitively diagnosed postmortem by direct brain tissue examination.
In May, Bellator MMA fighter Jordan Parsons was struck and killed by a hit and run driver. The autopsy revealed the first diagnosis of CTE in an MMA fighter.
Bob Hohler has the story for The Boston Globe.
The diagnosis was disclosed to the Globe by Dr. Bennet Omalu, a forensic pathologist who first discovered CTE in a professional football player (in 2003) and a professional wrestler (2007).
These findings confirm that the danger of exposure to CTE is not limited to just football, hockey, and wrestling,’’ Omalu said in an interview. Mixed martial arts is also a dangerous sport, and it’s time for everyone to embrace the truth.’’
As a scientist, a physician, and a person of faith, I beg everybody involved with these sports to come together and identify the problems and find solutions.”
Bellator president Scott Coker issued a statement saying, Jordan was a shining star in this sport and a beloved member of the Bellator family who we miss very much and we continue to honor through the ‘Jordan Parsons Memorial Scholarship Fund.’
Bellator MMA is committed to the safety of our fighters and has been a strong supporter of the Cleveland Clinic [Professional Fighters Brain Health Study] for the last few years.’’
Parsons was just 25 years old, and 11-2. The former high school wrestler had only one loss via KO. This suggests that it is not the dramatic KOs that lead to CTE, but rather the repeated subconcussive blows associated with sparring in the gym.
In addition to this first case in MMA, CTE has been found in professional athletes participating in American football, rugby, ice hockey, boxing, professional wrestling, stunt performing, bull riding, rodeo, and other contact sports who have experienced repeated concussions or other brain trauma. It has been found in high school football players, following just a few years of activity.
Terrifyingly, symptoms of CTE typically begin eight to ten years after experiencing repetitive mild traumatic brain injury. It begins with deterioration in attention as well as disorientation, dizziness, and headaches. Further disabilities appear with progressive deterioration, including memory loss, social instability, erratic behavior, and poor judgment. Third and fourth stages include progressive dementia, slowing of muscular movements, hypomimia, impeded speech, tremors, vertigo, deafness, and suicidality. (source: Wiki)
H/T Erik Magraken, Combat Sports Law
