PET Scan Detects Brain Damage in Retired NFL Players

A new imaging technique has allowed the detection of protein abnormalities in the concussed brains of living retired football players that are identical to the autopsy findings of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in deceased athletes, researchers reported. Positron emission tomography (PET) scanning using a tracer for tau protein known as FDDNP found significantly higher binding values among retired players than in controls in several regions of the brain, including the amygdala and...Full Story