Question

My Boyfriend Has Had Two Concussions; While CTE Is Not Yet Discovered By Anything Other Than Autopsy, How Likely Do You Think It Is That He Has It?

I've been reading up quite a bit on CTE, and got very paranoid and scared for my significant other. I love him very much, and the fact that he could have a deadly disease that alters the rest of his life drastically hurts me beyond all possible explanation.

He is 17, and is no longer playing football due to said concussions. He leads with his head when he runs.

Here's some symptoms of CTE he has;

- Memory Loss : Often forgets events after being told, leaves things in certain areas and doesn't remember them before leaving said area

- Tremors : When asleep he twitches to what seems to be uncontrollably, evenly spaced, almost subconsciously arm raised movements; appears to be every 5 minutes

- Depression : Also hereditary; out of his four siblings, three others are vocal about this mental illness.

There's more that I feel he relates too, but those are the heaviest symptoms.

He seems confused quite easily, is self-destructive, and easily gets annoyed by almost everyone besides me; though I felt that is an introvertive characteristic. We're both just getting very sick of the people in the area we live in it seems.

While he's tried both, he does not drink or smoke.

He's a good kid with a good heart, and looks out for others regardless of how tired he himself is. I couldn't ask for anyone better.


While this question isn't very school related, I want to know, what do you personally think is the percentage or possibility of him having CTE?


(Below is a picture of him covering his face :) )

Answer 1

possibly; let me give you a little insight. The chances of CTE from a concussion is rather low but having signs of CTE from playing is a high chance in long term. (something like 80-90% of the players had signs or clear symptoms) in a couple of studies of former players. With your boyfriend it could be many things and not CTE (unless it was repetitive. A single concussion isn't enough. You have a higher chance of developing CTE in contacts sports such as boxing or any of the other fighting arts.) Just keep an eye on him and try to not let the thought control your thoughts. Has his family or himself been checked for other possible developments? This could be related to simple autism. Early-onset isn't always noticeable even into later life. (I have PDD and never found out until i was 19 and went through a few tests it wasn't entirely apparent)

Step-by-step explanation:

CTE is very loose laying term when it comes to not being diagnosed with it (which well you can't..). While CTE isn't necessarily common from concussions it can form if the said subject has had extremely bad repetitive hits. Short term memory loss, depression and the other cognitive functions that can be affected.

Also it has been found in other ways than an autopsy but not in humans or at least majorly public. I sort of explained that in the answer, it's not worth going into detail as a lot of it was rodent based in labs with blunt force equivalents and studies regarding their behavior. (make sense?)

in short concussions can't really be related to CTE but that doesn't mean it isn't out of the spectrum. I would keep an eye on him for a month or so and just take notes of similar diseases that deteriorate brain functionalities.

Now for the part you may or may not want to hear this is a major blank zone. CTE on it's own isn't entirely fatal. There is not enough and simply just is NOT enough data to make any kind of statement here. CTE can be related to many diseases but doesn't necessarily mimic other diseases. The fatal parts of CTE come from your brain dying, slowly but not painfully. You wouldn't exactly notice until late stages lets say 20-40 years down the line it could progress to the point that you lose normal bodily functions. Your ability to swallow down the right tube and not having the ability to say it alongside not having control to get it out of your system with a cough or such. It's sad and a painful way at that point. You have a higher chance of dying from a sickness with CTE.

comment below if you have questions or DM me and we can continue this.