Brian Injury to the Frontal Lobe
The case of James Neiman
Frontal Lobe Trauma: Life after the Game
Recent research has shed light on the effects of many years of impact to the head that football players experience (Amen, 2013). Consider the case of James Nieman. He was a football player for the NFL for 10 years. His wife reports that he can't concentrate on one activity for too long, and he gets angry quickly. She should look out for other symptoms becuase it sounds like he has early onset chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)( BIRI, 2016). These symptoms of CTE arise because most of the time repeated injury occurs in the front portion of the skull from head on impacts. These include but are not limited to, lack of judgement, lack of motor skills, awareness of abilities, and self monitoring (Breedlove, & Watson, 2013). This condition is a degenerative disease that occurs in people who have sustained many concussions such as in the case of football players (BIRI, 2016).
Pictures of the damage
Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esPRsT-lmw8
What a head on hit looks like
Retrieved from www.mondernreaders.com
James Neimans hard hit
Retrieved from commons.trincoll.edu
Questions from Mrs.Nieman
Q: Is there anything we can do to help James stop the progression of CTE?
A: According to the Brain Injury research institute, researchers are still working towards finding a way to help treat and stop the progression of CTE. They just recently began being able to diagnose the disorder on living subjects by measuring levels of the tau protein in the brain (BIRI, 2016). The next step is finding a cure.
Q: What can I do to help James cope with his symptoms?
A: The best thing you can do is to is to take him to a therapist so he can work towards rehabilitation of the brain the "brain smart programs" (Amen, 2013). It is possible to make your brain stronger. In addition, keep James educated about what he is going through. This will keep him aware and willing to do therapy.
Q: Can CTE be mis-diagnosed?
A: Before, CTE was only discovered by examining a deceased brain (BIRI, 2016). Thanks to new discoveries, looking for the lau protient in specific regions of the brain can point to CTE instead of a completely different diagnosis . Without this determination, CTE would not be able to be caught early, Often times CTE is mis-diagnosed for Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's Disease (BIRI, 2016).
References
Amen, D., (2013) The most important lesson from 83,000 brain scans. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esPRsT-lmw8
Brain Injury Research Instistue (BIRI)(2016). What is CTE? Retrieved from http://www.protectthebrain.org/Brain-Injury-Research/What-is-CTE-.aspx