Ex-NFL player confirmed as 1st diagnosis of CTE in living patient
Source: CNN
By Nadia Kounang, CNN
Updated 6:52 AM ET, Thu November 16, 2017
(CNN)Researchers published, what they say is the first case of a living person diagnosed with the degenerative brain disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.
While unnamed in the study, lead author Dr. Bennet Omalu confirmed to CNN that the subject of the case was former NFL player, Fred McNeill -- who died in 2015.
Omalu is credited with first discovering CTE in professional football players. Until now, the only way to diagnose the disease is with a brain exam after death.
The diagnosis was first made in 2012 using an experimental brain scan that can trace a signature protein of CTE called tau. The case study was published in the journal Neurosurgery this week.
Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/16/health/cte-confirmed-in-first-living-person-bn/index.html