CTE

[ see-tee-ee ]

abbreviation for

1. chronic traumatic encephalopathy: a progressive degenerative neurological disease caused by repeated cerebral concussion or milder traumatic brain injury and characterized by memory loss, behavioral disturbances, speech problems, slowed movement, etc. Also called dementia pugilistica.

Word History and Origins

Origin of CTE¹

First recorded in 1945–50.

Example Sentences

I thought that that was really important, and I thought it was beautifully written, because I did a lot of research about CTE and something that was really difficult about that was how it can only be diagnosed after death.

From Los Angeles Times

I wanted to look at videos of people interacting with other people while having CTE, but that’s very hard because you have a lot of people who think they have it, or people who suspect that they might have it, and they seem like very normal people.

From Los Angeles Times

Some of the families have also written to the Coroners' Society to request all British sportspeople's brains be tested for CTE after death to "force sports to adopt better protocols in respect of brain welfare" and "provide greater awareness of the risk of brain injuries for sports participants".

From BBC

BBC Sport spoke to the widows of ex-footballers about their experiences of dealing with CTE, which they say is also "an issue for the youth of today" not just "an old person's disease".

From BBC

According to the NHS, CTE can cause depression and suicidal thoughts, personality changes, and increases in erratic and violent behaviour.

From BBC

More About CTE

What is CTE?

CTE stands for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease caused by repeated trauma to the head. The disease is especially prevalent among military veterans and professional athletes like American football players.

How is CTE pronounced?

[ see-tee-ee ]

CTE meaning

The first description of CTE was by Dr. Harrison Martland in 1928, who described boxers as having punch-drunk syndrome. While researchers would discover instances of similar behavior (tremors, speech hesitancy, mental slowness, muscular issues) in boxers and other brain trauma victims over the next 75 years, they didn’t confirm exactly what the cause was in most cases.

In 2002, Dr. Bennet Omalu examined the body of former Pittsburgh Steelers football player Mike Webster, who’d been behaving erratically shortly before his death. Dr. Omalu determined the tragic nature of Webster’s brain trauma and named the condition chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Dr. Omalu published a major paper about CTE in Neurosurgery, a prominent medical journal, in 2005 about its incidence in NFL players. Resulting from multiple head injuries, such as can happen with tackles and collisions in football, CTE significantly affects behavior (aggression), mood (depression), and cognition (memory loss). Extreme cases are linked to dementia.

Over the next several years, the NFL has been accused of trying to discredit Dr. Omalu’s work. Dr. Omalu went on, however, to study additional football players and attract other medical experts to assist him in his research. The discovery of CTE and Dr. Omalu’s story were portrayed in the 2015 film Concussion, which further spread awareness of CTE to a wider audience.

By the late 2010s, CTE research and awareness had advanced to the point that it had massive effects on football and athletics in general. The NFL was involved in a number of concussion-related lawsuits and took strides to improve their policies and image, including donating millions to brain research.

Some active and former NFL players began to discourage parents from allowing children to participate in full-tackle football, and the NFL altered the rules to disallow any player who suffered a concussion during play to immediately reenter the game. By 2016, MMA fighters and professional wrestlers were also being diagnosed with CTE—and pursuing lawsuits against their professional organizations.

#NHL Enforcer #Derek_Boogaard's Brain Injury Case Ends With Supreme Court Denial. An autopsy confirmed he suffered from #CTE, a degenerative brain condition associated with ice hockey and other head-banging sports. Played for @newyorkrangers @mnwild. https://t.co/40GHVTiPSx

— Bruce Rolfsen (@OSHAReporter) December 5, 2018

How is CTE used in real life?

CTE has rocked the world of sports since it gained national attention in the 2000s. Public concerns for player safety has led to many people taking issue with the big hits many have argued have been used as the main allure of watching contact sports. The acronym CTE is frequently used by doctors, journalists, athletes, lawyers, sports organizations, and public health and policy experts.

“It is clear, & has been for many decades, that @NHL hockey players face an increased risk of long-term neurodegenerative diseases such as #CTE because of the head trauma they experience in the NHL,” Dr. Cantu wrote in the Feb. 6, 2018, declaration ⁦. https://t.co/q91EeklQIZ

— Daniel Carcillo (@CarBombBoom13) September 27, 2018

Please listen to @jonlovett and @danpfeiffer talk to @MarkLeibovich about the NFL in the current social moment that we live in. The evidence about traumatic brain injury and CTE is overwhelming. Will it take a player dying on the field for America to abandon the sport? pic.twitter.com/OAjkvg1Mug

— Abraham Gutman🔥 (@abgutman) September 25, 2018

 

More examples of CTE

“Snoop Dogg Proud Of His Son For Quitting Football After Studying Dangers Of CTE”
—Chantilly Post, HotNewHipHop (headline), September 2018

“im glad the NFL made all these rule changes. the players are people, not just entertainment. CTE is a very dangerous thing, and giving athletes CTE just for your entertainment and “big hit football” isn’t right. it’s dehumanizing.”
—@ian_barthel24, September 2018

Note

This content is not meant to be a formal definition of this term. Rather, it is an informal summary that seeks to provide supplemental information and context important to know or keep in mind about the term’s history, meaning, and usage.