NHL, Other Sports Leagues Allegedly Capable of Testing Active Players for CTE

February 19th, 2015 by Mike Chiari Leave a reply »
Although identifying chronic traumatic encephalopathy was once only possible with deceased subjects, a new medical advancement could potentially allow living people to be tested for the concussion-related disease.   

According to TSN's Rick Westhead, UCLA's Dr. Julian Bailes claims that the technology is now available to determine if someone is dealing with CTE. He believes it could be a huge advancement in terms of analyzing the underlying health of pro athletes in the NHL and other professional sports leagues:

This is the holy grail of CTE, to make the diagnosis in living people. It's an intriguing test. But it's not for everyone. People are different. Some people say, 'Why do I want to know I have CTE if there is no cure?' But maybe, if they are an active pro athlete, it may be helpful for a retirement decision. It's a little bit like genetic testing for some diseases. If you're a woman, do you want to know if you have the gene for breast cancer?

Bailes aims to prove the viability of testing living subjects for CTE by publishing a study in the coming days, per Westhead.

Developing the ability to find CTE prior to death i ...

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