A neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated head trauma; diagnosis postmortem, risk factors span athletes and service personnel.
NFL star Aldon Smith has died after delivering pizzas for a homeless charity in the San Francisco Bay Area. Attorneys say his brain will be examined for CTE as part of ongoing family-initiated investigations into the death.
InStockport, after an inquest into the death of Nobby Stiles, the coroner has ruled that a brain condition linked to repeated heading a football contributed to his dementia and Alzheimer's disease. The event follows a 2020 death and long campaign by the family for accountability from football authorities.
Multiple football figures have disclosed probable or suspected CTE linked to repeated head impacts. Reports show higher dementia and neurodegenerative risks among players, fueling debates over heading guidelines and player support. Authorities and unions are urged to strengthen concussion protocols and youth-heading rules as more cases surface.
Researchers have examined brains from 235 former NFL players who died between 2016 and 2021 and have confirmed chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in 215. Including all 878 players who died in that period, the team has calculated a conservative minimum prevalence of CTE of 24.5% at death and urged prevention to cut repetitive head impacts.