chronic traumatic encephalopathy

noun

: a progressive neurological disease that is found especially in athletes (such as boxers, wrestlers, or football players) who have experienced repetitive, mild injury to the brain and that is characterized by short-term memory loss, concentration deficits, confusion, depression, behavioral and personality changes (such as an increase in irritability, impulsivity, or aggression), speech and gait abnormalities, parkinsonism, and dementia

—abbreviation CTE

called also dementia pugilistica, punch-drunk syndrome

Note: The neurological deterioration of chronic traumatic encephalopathy is accompanied by atrophy of the frontal and temporal lobes and accumulation of tau protein in neurofibrillary tangles.

Examples of chronic traumatic encephalopathy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And the worry about head injuries isn’t just about concussions, but about chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a neurodegenerative disease characterized by memory loss, cognitive problems, and mood disorders, among other things. —Christie Aschwanden, WIRED, 2 Oct. 2019

Concussions can lead to serious long-term effects, including chronic traumatic encephalopathy. —Jesse Kirsch, NBC News, 27 Oct. 2024

This time around, Neeson stars as a low-level criminal and boxer afflicted with CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy). —Shania Russell, EW.com, 23 Oct. 2024

So too is the degenerative brain disease CTE — chronic traumatic encephalopathy — which has been posthumously diagnosed in hundreds of NFL players whose brains were donated to researchers for examination. —Becky Sullivan, NPR, 24 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1957, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

chronic traumatic encephalopathy

noun

: a progressive neurological disease that is found especially in athletes (as boxers, wrestlers, or football players) who have experienced repetitive, typically minor injury (as concussion) to the brain and is characterized by short-term memory loss, concentration deficits, confusion, depression, behavioral and personality changes (such as an increase in irritability, impulsivity, or aggression), speech and gait abnormalities, parkinsonism, and dementia

—abbreviation CTE

called also dementia pugilistica, punch-drunk syndrome

Note: The neurological deterioration of chronic traumatic encephalopathy is accompanied by atrophy of the frontal and temporal lobes and accumulation of tau protein in neurofibrillary tangles.

… it is only in the past decade that scientists have identified the problem in American football players. They have also been able to identify, on autopsy, pathological markers for the disease, now called chronic traumatic encephalopathy …

—Jeffrey Bartholet, Scientific American

[Dr. Robert] Cantu said that symptoms of chronic traumatic encephalopathy include depression and erratic behavior, but he declined to speculate on any role the condition played in Benoit's final violent acts.

—Alan Schwarz, The New York Times