The Brink at Boston University | Boston University researchers have found significant evidence that Lewiston, Maine, mass shooter Robert R. Card II had traumatic brain injuries when he killed 18 people and himself last October. The brain analysis results were released by the Concussion Legacy Foundation with the permission of Card’s family, “in an effort to prevent future tragedies.” […]
The Brink at Boston University | Perhaps it starts with a quick memory lapse—a blank space where a loved one’s name should be, or a mysteriously empty key hook right before heading out. These are normal moments of forgetfulness that accompany aging. Read more.
The Brink | Boston University | Years of research have shown that athletes who play high-contact sports—like tackle football and soccer—and endure frequent hits to the head risk developing a neurodegenerative disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). It’s not just the number of years a person plays that can predict the likelihood of developing CTE—it’s also […]
The Brink | Boston University | Judging by this year’s most-read articles on The Brink, readers value the research-driven insights Boston University experts can provide on the stories making national and international headlines. Read more.
The Brink | Boston University | It’s perhaps not especially surprising that after enduring decades of head-thumping collisions on the football field, many NFL veterans spend their retirements grappling with declining brain health. Almost all—92 percent—of ex-NFL players studied have been diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Worryingly though, a new study from the Boston […]
The Brink | Boston University | Watching Muhammad Ali struggle late in his life with severe tremors brought on by Parkinson’s disease was difficult for many to witness. When Ali learned the actor Michael J. Fox was also diagnosed with Parkinson’s, he called Fox to say, “I’m glad you’re in this fight with me.” Read more.
The Brink | Boston University | For years, researchers studying chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, believed the primary cause of it was repetitive hits to the head, whether or not those hits caused concussions. They believed the more frequently that a person sustained head blows, the more likely they were to develop neurological and cognitive […]
The Brink | Boston University | The degenerative brain disease known as CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, has become a specter haunting football. One-time stars—like the late NFL defensive backs Irv Cross and Dave Duerson and the Hall of Fame center Mike Webster—who were all once heralded for their swaggering on-field heroics, later found themselves condemned to far less glamorous retirements, stuck […]
The Brink | Boston University | Less than a year after Bruce Willis’ family shared that the famed actor had the neurological disorder aphasia, they’ve announced that his condition has progressed and that he has a new diagnosis: frontotemporal dementia. Read more.
The Brink | Boston University | Setting aside for a moment the hype, the glitz, the money, the commercials, the athleticism, the scoreboard, and the beer, chili, and wings—everything that comprises the NFL’s Super Bowl experience this weekend—the cold, sad truth remains that football is taking a horrible toll on some of its players. The […]