Long-Term Neurological Effects of Multiple Concussions in Athletes who perform Contact Sports: The Development of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy

Contact-sports are often regarded as one of the most dangerous athletic events to participate in, as countless injuries could occur. Traumatic brain injuries (TBI’s) can occur by repeated concussions or severe impacts to the skull in these sports, and can unfortunately lead to various neurodegenerative diseases such as CTE. The accumulation of p-tau from the oxidative stress of these blows to the brain destabilizes neurons and causes the brain to collapse in function. This secondary literature review aims to identify possible diagnostics and treatment options in the early stages of CTE when the patient is still alive. Through solely online sources, the paper, which is focused on neurology, delves in-depth into how radiology, environmental hazards, biomarkers, genetics, aptitude tests, and updated safety equipment and rules can hopefully prevent, diagnose, and treat CTE. These categories presented varied methods in which technology could advance in the future to combat this neurodegenerative disease, such as utilizing cognitive domains from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease to see parallel patterns in CTE and identify unique ones in cognitive screening exams. Most causes of death of those associated with CTE are suicide and substance abuse, and nobody can know why their behaviors are so different in life after athletics due to CTE only being discovered in autopsies after death. These aforementioned ways could help solve a critical issue many researchers have faced ever since contact-sports were invented. Keywords: Contact Sport Risks, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, Concussions, Biomarkers, Traumatic Brain Injury