Can repeated head injuries lead to dementia? They can. There’s a brain condition called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE for short, and it can develop into dementia.
We’ve been hearing more and more about it in recent years. At first we really only heard about it with boxers. Now we hear about it a lot with military personnel and football players too.
What Is Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)?
CTE is a condition that results from repeated head trauma. Basically, someone’s brain has been beaten up quite a bit, to the point where it hurts their thinking, their behavior, their overall functioning and their quality of life.
Boxers get hit in the head a lot. People in the military often have a lot of concussions and head injuries. Same thing with football players. But this can happen to anybody.
Is CTE the Same as a Concussion?
No. When someone has a concussion, they can recover fully from it. CTE comes from repeated head injuries, over and over.
A few key things to keep in mind about CTE:
- It’s progressive, meaning it gets worse with time.
- It harms how the brain functions.
- It can happen to anyone who has repeated head injuries. It’s not limited to one sport or one profession.
- It usually forms years after the injuries. Someone can have repeated head injuries, and years down the road, they start to develop CTE. It doesn’t necessarily show up when the injuries happen.
CTE Symptoms: The Two Types
CTE can look different from person to person, but it generally falls into two categories.
The Behavioral or Mood Variant
This one typically happens to someone younger. The first symptoms tend to be aggression, depression, irritability and impulsivity.
Later on it can progress to more cognitive, or thinking, symptoms. But not always.
The Cognitive Variant
This one typically starts at a later age. The first symptoms are more cognitive: memory loss, difficulty starting tasks, and problems with executive functioning.
This is the type that is more likely to develop into dementia.
How Is CTE Diagnosed?
It can be really difficult to recognize that CTE is there. You can’t technically confirm it until after someone has died.
There’s still a lot of research happening in this area, trying to find possible biomarkers and better techniques to diagnose CTE more accurately.
CTE vs. Alzheimer’s and Other Dementias
Because CTE shares so many symptoms with dementia, it can be really hard for providers to figure out: is this CTE, or is this a type of dementia?
Memory loss, irritability, depression, trouble with executive functioning, attention difficulties. Lots of similarities to many of the dementias.
One difference is timing. Many times with CTE, the symptoms show up much earlier, in someone’s 30s or 40s. Alzheimer’s disease can start earlier, but it typically happens after age 60.
If you’re trying to sort out the dementias themselves, I walk through them in the 5 most common types of dementia.
Is There a Cure for CTE?
Unfortunately, just like with Alzheimer’s disease, there’s no cure once someone develops CTE. Most of the focus is on prevention, and that really means preventing repeated head trauma:
- Using protective equipment like helmets in sports.
- Putting stricter concussion protocols in place, and following them. Once someone has a concussion, strict guidelines help decide when they’re okay to return to play.
- Truly educating athletes, players and military personnel about the risks of concussion and the long-term consequences of repeated head injuries.
CTE is a significant public health concern, especially for people in physical sports and occupations with a higher risk of repeated head trauma. Hopefully we’ll know more as more research happens.
When Your Loved One Has a History of Head Injuries
CTE can develop into dementia down the line, but it is a separate condition. There are lots of similarities, which makes it really hard to tell which is which.
If your loved one has had a lot of repeated head injuries in their past, this could be something they have. Check with their doctor and ask all the questions you need, so you get guidance that’s specific to your situation.
Not knowing whether you’re looking at CTE or dementia is a hard place to be. Inside the Care Collective, we talk through situations like this every week: what might be happening in the brain, what to ask the doctor, and how to take care of yourself while you care for your loved one. You can learn more here.
