Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

After his retirement from football he had suffered from amnesia, dementia, depression and a host of physical ailments. He becomes the first former NFL player to be diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) ("Concussions in Sports"). A

ALS and CTE: The Incurable Mysteries Imagine being trapped inside your own head, not able to move, talk, or even swallow. This is what life is like when someone suffers from ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. One month you are perfectly fine, then the next month your speech is slurred, almost as if intoxicated, after several months you start to lose the ability to do daily activities such as walking and eating. With ALS you lose the function of your whole body except your brain, which stays in a pristine condition, able to comprehend everything that happens around you, able to be emotional about the situation you are stuck in. Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE, is somewhat the opposite of ALS.

Studies have shown that when it comes to playing football or any other contact sport, both children and adult athletes have suffered serious injuries like concussions that not only affects their mental health, but in some cases, have also caused death. All contact sports

Abstract Concussions have been a serious problem for athletes in the past and continue to be a problem today. From pee-wee football to the professional league, head injuries are the number one safety concern. Years after the injuries, a lot of players develop signs of a brain disease called CTE. This disease has shown up in over 75 deceased NFL players.

This may damage or ultimately kill nerve cells, and spread as the disease progresses; one of the advanced stages is that brain shrinkage may occur. Researchers are working to refine brain scan techniques to identify Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy tau deposits in living brains. They are also looking for clues in people’s blood or cerebrospinal fluid that would allow them diagnose the disease before death. A large-scale study found that concussions in adolescents can increase the risk of developing multiple sclerosis later on in life. There are hints that head trauma may also be linked to the development of many other conditions, including multiple sclerosis.

In 2014 the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge swept the nation and children, teens, and adults of all ages were participating in what seemed like a fun activity to support a cause no one knew about. ALS, or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is a neurodegenerative brain disease that affects the motor skills in a person. ALS is most commonly seen athletes due to multiple hits to the head and concussions. ALS, CTEs, and concussions are being more and more recognized as result of athletes being diagnosed with these diseases and in many cases, dying. However, sports organizations should be doing more to educate parents, athletes, and coaches about the dangers of head trauma and ways it can be prevented as well as improving equipment used by athletes..

(2013) The spectrum of disease in chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Brain 136: 43–64. doi: 10.1093/brain/aws307 PMID: 23208308 Omalu B, Bailes J, Hamilton RL, Kamboh MI, Hammers J, et al. (2011)

In a case involving a 17-year-old who played football too soon after suffering a concussion and is now confined to a wheelchair. This was so serious because this teen suffered from second impact syndrome. It is often fatal and happens when a second head injury without recovering fully from the first. This boy got his injury when there was a helmet-to-helmet collision during a punt return. He had symptoms right away, but stayed in the game.

Imagine you are nine years old and helping unpack groceries with your mother. In an instant everything changes. Your mom drops what she is holding and is now frozen on the ground. Her left side is paralyzed and there is nothing you can do except sit with her and wait for it to be over. You tell yourself it will be over soon, that the doctors will find a cure soon.

Watching him struggle to do simple tasks like walk and talk was devastating, but I had to be strong for him. My father required a lot of care as his disease progressed and I was always there for him in every way I could. My dad developed bronchitis eleven months after I received the news of his disorder. For patients with ALS breathing is typically a difficult task, having

If the NFL is prompted to explore new technology in order to make the game safer, that could have a huge effect of the number of people with brain disorder following their career. Many players have experienced these life threatening disorders that cause tragic results. Frank Wycheck was a tight-end who played for the Redskins for the majority of his career. Wycheck was interviewed following an NFL concussion case settlement. He called it a “joke”(Red), and explained how he, himself, suffered from CTE.

Several scientists, which were funded by the NFL, claimed that they had found evidence that connected brain and head injuries to a condition that mimicked ALS (“Injuries Mimic ALS”). One of the scientists, Dr. Ann McKee, stated that she had found proteins that proved to be toxic in the spinal cords of three athletes who had obtained head injuries and were later diagnosed with ALS. She said that the proteins were not found in individuals with CTE, a condition similar to ALS. A 2012 study had shown that NFL players might be at higher risk of diseases like ALS (“NFL Players”).

Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS) Each year about 5,000 people are diagnosed with the deadly disease called Lou Gehrig's disease or ALS. ALS stands for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Yet one person has managed to survive for more than forty years with ALS. It is a disease that currently has no cure. ALS is a incurable disease that affects millions of people every year.

Concussions are a silent killer because later in life they cause Parkinson’s Disease which is a moving disability, Alzheimer 's which causes memory loss , Dementia which as well causes memory loss, and CTE which is known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy and this

Imagine being unable to walk, unable to speak, unable to move and unable to breathe. Imagine being in a state of complete paralysis where the only thing that keeps on functioning is your brain, and you live chained to a machine doctors call life support. Imagine being told that you have an incurable disease that will inevitably kill you. Maybe next month. Maybe next year.