3 minute read
The late Graham "Polly" Farmer has become the first AFL player diagnosed with CTE, a form of dementia increasingly found in former sporting men and women.
WHAT IS CHRONIC TRAUMATIC ENCEPHALOPATHY?
* CTE is a type of dementia, a degenerative brain disease
* It is caused by repeated blows to the head but not necessarily concussion
* Symptoms include changes to mood and personality, difficulty thinking, impulsive behaviour and short-term memory loss
* It is commonly found among athletes in contact sports and military personnel
* Symptoms can appear years or decades after the last head injury
* CTE is only diagnosable after death
* There is no cure
SPORT
* Originally named "punch drunk syndrome" it has been known to affect boxers since the 1920s
* The first official case in another sport was an American NFL player in 2005
* Other sports followed including ice hockey, soccer and rugby union
* Australia's first cases - two former rugby league players - were reported in 2019
* The late Polly Farmer is the first ex-AFL player diagnosed
* Doctors say ex-England soccer captain Dave Watson, who has a neurodegenerative disease, likely has CTE
CONSEQUENCES
* In 2018, the Australian Sports Brain Bank was set up to investigate the link between concussion and brain disease
* A class action against the NFL settled in 2017 included the creation of a compensation fund for affected players, which has so far paid out $US671 million ($A1 billion)
* Australian legal firms say they've spent five years preparing for class actions from former NRL and AFL players against the nation's two major football codes
* All British soccer clubs are moving to ban under 12-18 teams heading the ball to protect developing brains.
