Brain Trauma in Soccer

Our very first Freakonomics Radio podcast focused on brain trauma among NFL players, and its link to chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Researchers now believe they’ve identified the first case of C.T.E. in a soccer player; from The New York Times:

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the degenerative brain disease linked to repeated blows to the head, has been found posthumously in the brain of a 29-year-old former soccer player, the strongest indication yet that the condition is not limited to athletes who played violent collision sports like football and boxing.

The researchers at Boston University who have diagnosed scores of cases of C.T.E. said Patrick Grange of Albuquerque represents the first named case of C.T.E. in a soccer player. On a four-point scale of severity, his was considered Stage 2.

C.T.E. is no longer just a concern for boxers and football players:

C.T.E. is believed to be caused by repetitive hits to the head — even subconcussive ones barely noted. Once considered unique to boxers, it has been diagnosed over the past decade in dozens of deceased football players and several hockey players. In December, it was found for the first time in a baseball player. Symptoms can include depression, memory loss, impulse control disorders and, eventually, progressive dementia, scientists said.

Boston University researchers also found a severe case of C.T.E. in a 77-year-old former rugby player from Australia named Barry Taylor, who was known by his nickname, Tizza. A hard-charging sort, he played competitive rugby for 19 years, including 235 games for Manly Rugby Union, an Australian professional team near Sydney.