Risk Factors for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy: A Proposed Framework
Alyssa Phelps 1, Jesse Mez 1, Robert A Stern 1 2 3, Michael L Alosco 1Affiliations expand
- PMID: 32674182
- DOI: 10.1055/s-0040-1713633
Abstract
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that has been neuropathologically diagnosed in contact and collision sport athletes, military veterans, and others with a history of exposure to repetitive head impacts (RHI). Identifying methods to diagnose and prevent CTE during life is a high priority. Timely diagnosis and implementation of treatment and preventative strategies for neurodegenerative diseases, including CTE, partially hinge upon early and accurate risk characterization. Here, we propose a framework of risk factors that influence the neuropathological development of CTE. We provide an up-to-date review of the literature examining cumulative exposure to RHI as the environmental trigger for CTE. Because not all individuals exposed to RHI develop CTE, the direct and/or indirect influence of nonhead trauma exposure characteristics (e.g., age, sex, race, genetics) on the pathological development of CTE is reviewed. We conclude with recommendations for future directions, as well as opinions for preventative strategies that could mitigate risk.
Thieme. All rights reserved.
Conflict of interest statement
Dr. Stern reports grants from Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, Inc. (Philadelphia, PA); personal fees from Biogen (Cambridge, MA); personal fees from Eli Lilly (Indianapolis, IN); personal fees from Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc. (Lutz, FL); personal fees from King-Devick Technologies (Chicago, IL); outside the submitted work; and is a member of the Mackey-White Committee of the NFL Players Association.
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Publication types
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov’t
