One area my research delved into, investigating a connection between CTE and behavioural disorders that form as a result of the head injury or trauma. You will see within my research a direct connection between the first incident leading to behaviour changes in the person and this is quite critical to watch out for within your teammates or family member.
The worrying factor is the behaviour symptoms that follow are not what you could classify as standard psychiatric ailments, the behaviour changes are extreme and span areas like depression, aggression, suicidal behaviour, gait disorder, speech and impediment, slurring of words, Parkinsons, vertigo, confusion, psychoses, and in some cases mental hospitalisation. One of the main causes of the behaviour change rests on what I classify as a trigger mechanism. These trigger mechanisms are metabolic, membrane and ionic, in medical terms this creates what is referred to as a pathological cascade which is evidenced through the diagnosis of Tau protein build up in the brain. I reach one conclusion through the cascade event it places the individual in a heightened state of hyper alert as the cascade event occurs and as the internal trauma unfolds affects the individual on a metabolic level. A second harm is also occurring at the same time through an ionic spike response, this in my view creates an entire destabilisation of your regular state of homeostasis in the brain accredited evidence here: Ion regulation in the brain: implications for pathophysiology – PubMed (nih.gov) . Through this process like a tsunami through the brain, can only flow through the channels it has to go through, with nowhere else to go the trauma will flow until you regain control in a process what I call self-regulation, I delve into this further in my seminars. Most military chaps will understand.
Unfortunately, this is only 2 of the harms occurring at the same time, the third trigger event is the harm that follows from the dysregulation affect caused by the tsunami. Due to the massive impact flowing through the neural routes in the brain and the ionic dysregulation, the neurons will fire off sporadically leading to aggravated ion distribution through those pathways. This is where you start feeling the effects as listed in paragraph 2.
In 2016 I identified a medical testing method that was at that stage in its infancy of testing for CTE, it specifically focused on a testing programme that was modified from an Alzheimer’s test. It was adapted to identify CTE within a living being. You can review one of the research article finding here Alzheimer’s disease and chronic traumatic encephalopathy: distinct but possibly overlapping disease entities (nih.gov)
Repetitive head impact exposure and later‐life plasma total tau in former National Football League players – Alosco – 2017 – Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring – Wiley Online Library it is this test that has been adapted over the years towards being able to diagnose CTE in a living being. The results have been really quite amazing and such amazing technological advancements have been made since 2016 see here NIH-developed test detects protein associated with Alzheimer’s and CTE | National Institutes of Health (NIH) . At this point I would ask you consider this evidence, if people maintain in telling those past/present and future generation of athletes there is no means by which to test for CTE currently, it is an absolute lie and a wilful deceitful and legally misleading statement. All those organisations making such statements need to revise public articles claiming as such. One takeaway from this, if certain large and powerful organisations knew of the existence of this method, ask yourself why they would not publicise it or make it known for people to decide for themselves to take the risk or not. From a legal perspective if a large organisation knew of the existence of the test and chose to do nothing in making the knowledge known, where would this leave a person/player from a legal perspective. This is where breaches occur with regards safety and duty of care.
In the provision of care for your relative you must be mindful to the devastating behaviour changes as they occur. Rash outbursts of aggressive nature, irrational loss of control of bodily function, in one case I researched I found an NFL player George Mcafee from the Chicago Bears whilst in assisted living drank bleach. He sadly passed away as a result of this event, I say this to alert people who know of relatives living with CTE to be mindful of this and do what is necessary to ensure this does not happen to your loved ones.
In more recent alarming events the murder of five people from an ex NFL player was caused in my professional view because of the CTE disease and debilitating affects this would have had on the players life, article here Brain of ex-NFL player Phillip Adams, who killed 5 in South Carolina, to be tested for CTE – CBS News . It is almost a certainty the medical findings will more than likely evidence cte in this NFL players brain. Another such extreme case can be evidenced here where another person was killed Boston Group to Examine Brain of Ex-NFL Player Who Killed Doctor | MedPage Today again you will see the legal question raised, did CTE play a part. I have to say the evidence will prove they had CTE. I am using these evidence examples to show you how to be mindful of the very extreme nature this disease can have on the mind and thought process. Erratic behaviour patterns which can lead to extreme results.
It may be alarming reading for some, but necessary in preparation for those you may know have the disease or at the very least be mindful to colleagues, teammates and behaviour changes, it is on that basis I drafted an online screening method which is simple in itself in identifying early symptoms, but more than that, I developed a unique set of questions tailored towards the research this is available on my site.
If you or your club would like a team-based screening programme there is also a tailored product for you to self-assess safely either at home or at the club, of course any purchase is accessible by the purchaser and they can share the access for a specified amount of people to undertake the screening. This way you do not have to worry about the outcome and can feel safe and free to conducting the event in your own home. All you need is a timer. The set of questions available are designed to aid a club/team/athlete assess for themselves if they are identifying with certain CTE behaviour related issue. It costs £5.00.
The personalised screening is very in depth involves an hour long assessment and is coming soon.
The screening for a club/association can be found here: CTE Non-Invasive Testing | CTE Wellbeing it is an online process that will allow anybody to have a go at from their own computer, and will aid any club/athlete/player monitor any possible underlying issue. Mark sheahan Leading inventor at the British Library of Inventors undertook the online screening, and he had this to say about it.
Customer Reviews | CTE Wellbeing
In my blogs you will observe the different compounds, ingredients, chemicals that aid you in taking action on a basic level. If you take one action in making that change you will have already achieved the first major step towards recovery and will have started building your neuroprotective defence mechanisms.
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change -Charles Darwin
Will you make the change, Take that first step, Make the changes early on for your loved ones in house changes and adaptions.