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.
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web The eventual findings were bracingly familiar to experts and players and their families: chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a neurological disorder linked to blows to the head and sometimes seen in men who played elite football. 
New York Times, 7 Aug. 2022 He was found to have chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is a neurological disorder linked to blows to the head. Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, 8 Aug. 2022 Seau’s suicide was attributed to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) caused by multiple blows to the head on the playing field. Lola Sherman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 July 2022 Acute symptoms of concussions include headaches and nausea, with long-term symptoms associated with concussions and head trauma consisting of memory loss, motor disfunction or chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Margaret Osborne, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 June 2022 Researchers have diagnosed chronic traumatic encephalopathy in a Major League Soccer player for the first time, saying Tuesday that defender Scott Vermillion suffered from the degenerative brain disease. CBS News, 29 June 2022 Former Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan was found to have had Stage 1 chronic traumatic encephalopathy in a post-mortem examination, his family was told this week. Jeff Miller, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2022 The statement did not give a cause, but said Mr. Ward wanted any memorial donations given to a Boston University center for the study of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease. Harrison Smith, Washington Post, 13 May 2022 Now battling post-traumatic epilepsy and also, according to his doctors, showing symptoms of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, Adamle retired from WMAQ-Ch. Bob Goldsborough, Chicago Tribune, 11 May 2022 See More
New York Times, 7 Aug. 2022 He was found to have chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is a neurological disorder linked to blows to the head. Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, 8 Aug. 2022 Seau’s suicide was attributed to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) caused by multiple blows to the head on the playing field. Lola Sherman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 July 2022 Acute symptoms of concussions include headaches and nausea, with long-term symptoms associated with concussions and head trauma consisting of memory loss, motor disfunction or chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Margaret Osborne, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 June 2022 Researchers have diagnosed chronic traumatic encephalopathy in a Major League Soccer player for the first time, saying Tuesday that defender Scott Vermillion suffered from the degenerative brain disease. CBS News, 29 June 2022 Former Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan was found to have had Stage 1 chronic traumatic encephalopathy in a post-mortem examination, his family was told this week. Jeff Miller, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2022 The statement did not give a cause, but said Mr. Ward wanted any memorial donations given to a Boston University center for the study of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease. Harrison Smith, Washington Post, 13 May 2022 Now battling post-traumatic epilepsy and also, according to his doctors, showing symptoms of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, Adamle retired from WMAQ-Ch. Bob Goldsborough, Chicago Tribune, 11 May 2022 See More 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
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
Alan Schwarz, The New York Times