Potential Long-Term Consequences of Concussive and Subconcussive Injury

Repeated concussive and subconcussive trauma is associated with the later development of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a neurodegenerative disease associated with clinical symptoms in multiple domains and a unique pattern of pathologic changes. CTE has been linked to boxing and American football; CTE has also been identified in soccer, ice hockey, baseball, rugby, and military service. To date, most large studies of CTE have come from enriched cohorts associated with brain bank donations for traumatic brain injury, although several recent studies re-examining neurodegenerative disease brain banks suggest that CTE is more common than is currently appreciated.