Because repeated impacts are thought to increase the likelihood of CTE development, a growing area of practice is improved recognition and treatment for concussions and other head trauma; removal from sport participation during recovery from these traumatic injuries is essential. Proper return-to-play protocol after possible brain injuries is also important in decreasing the significance of future impacts.Efforts are being made to change the rules of contact sports to reduce the frequency and severity of blows to the head. Examples of these rule changes are the evolution of tackling technique rules in American football, such as the banning of helmet-first tackles, and the addition of rules to protect defenseless players. Likewise, another growing area of debate is better implementation of rules already in place to protect athletes.Because of the concern that boxing may cause CTE, there is a movement among medical professionals to ban the sport. Medical professionals have called for such a ban as early as the 1950s. Management
No cure exists for CTE, and because it cannot be tested for until an autopsy is performed, people cannot know if they have it. Treatment is supportive as with other forms of dementia. Those with CTE-related symptoms may receive medication and non-medication related treatments. Epidemiology
Rates of disease have been found to be about 30% among those with a history of multiple head injuries. Population rates, however, are unclear.Professional level athletes are the largest group with CTE, due to frequent concussions and sub-concussive impacts from play in contact sport.
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated trauma to the head. The encephalopathy symptoms can include behavioral problems, mood problems, and problems with thinking. The disease often gets worse over time and can result in dementia. It is unclear if the risk of suicide is altered.Most documented cases have occurred in athletes involved in striking-based combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Muay Thai—hence its original name dementia pugilistica (Latin for "fistfighters dementia")—and contact sports such as American football, Australian rules football, professional wrestling, ice hockey, rugby, and association football (soccer), in semi-contact sports such as baseball and basketball, and military combat arms occupations. Other risk factors include being in the military, prior domestic violence, and repeated banging of the head. The exact amount of trauma required for the condition to occur is unknown, and as of 2022 definitive diagnosis can only occur at autopsy. The disease is classified as a tauopathy.There is no specific treatment for the disease. Rates of CTE have been found to be about 30% among those with a history of multiple head injuries; however, population rates are unclear. Research in brain damage as a result of repeated head injuries began in the 1920s, at which time the condition was known as dementia pugilistica or "fistfighters dementia", "boxers madness", or "punch drunk syndrome". It has been proposed that the rules of some sports be changed as a means of prevention.