Can football be saved from CTE? Some people think so. New rules, better helmets, concussion protocols to take players out of the game, but is it enough? CTE, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy is a degenerative brain disease caused by repetitive hits to the head. These hits don’t have to cause concussion. Most of the time sub-concussive … Continue reading Can Football be saved from CTE? by Laurie Carr
Category: Research
“We’re desperate”
I Love Football! With that said… In May of 2017, my wife and I were temporarily living in the Boston area doing genealogical research. I had been diagnosed with football related brain damage 6 years earlier (following 10+ hours of testing) and we hoped that doing service would calm symptoms that had become severe. After … Continue reading “We’re desperate”
Willful Ignorance – they should have known!
Dementia in football: Ex-players three and a half times more likely to die of conditionFormer professional footballers are three and a half times more likely to die of dementia than people of the same age range in the general population, according to new research. Read in BBC News: https://apple.news/AwI69TRGZRWiW37jLsr297Q Regardless of what many continue to … Continue reading Willful Ignorance – they should have known!
The Synergy of Light
A story in the NY Times reported a Journal of Applied Physiology research article that found weight training in rats changed the brain. The authors stated how modified strength training appeared to promote the creation of new neurons in the memory centers. This is not the first time exercise and/or other lifestyle habits have been … Continue reading The Synergy of Light
PBM Treatment Results for CTE
In December of 2013, following over 10 hours of neuro-cognitive testing, and preceded by years of ever decreasing emotional control, my wife Laurie and I listened as the Neuro-psychologist summed up my results, “Probable etiology for these changes is multiple head trauma with multiple concussions. Problems with attention and memory are hallmarks of significant brain … Continue reading PBM Treatment Results for CTE
The Research
In past posts, my wife Laurie and I have detailed how we “accidentally” found ourselves in a cluttered office on the twelfth floor of the Boston VA hospital. We were in the office of Dr. Margaret Naeser, a research scientist at the VA for the past 36 years, and a faculty member at the Boston … Continue reading The Research
My Darkest Night
As I introduce the gift and power of light and the impact it has had in our life, I feel compelled to tell the rest of the story. This is not easy. However, I believe it is important to fully appreciate the dramatic contrast of darkness as it is replaced with light, both metaphorically and … Continue reading My Darkest Night
This Is Not Just Another CTE Story
We are told there is no official diagnosis, cure or even an effective treatment for the neurodegenerative disease CTE, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. Because of this bleak reality, people are turning their backs on the personal stories chronicling the effects of this devastating condition. After all, who wants to keep hearing about athletes killing themselves, or … Continue reading This Is Not Just Another CTE Story
Deniers of CTE bring less than nothing to the table –
I recently read comments from Merril Hoge who was interviewed about his book, “Brainwashed: The Bad Science behind CTE and The Plot to Destroy Football.” As I listened to him talk, I remembered several quotes he made a while back when he commented about his son, Beau, a QB on BYU’s 2017 and 2018 team. … Continue reading Deniers of CTE bring less than nothing to the table –
Football and the Brain 