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Originally Posted by mhr4
Yes, there is a difference between PCS and Chronic Encephalopothy (CE). CE is a neurodegenerative disease that is similar to Alzheimers. The brain begins to accumulate tau proteins from years of serious insults and these proteins degrade brain tissue. These insults are not just minor bumps or jostles to the head that set off symptoms, they are serious blows coming from a punch or another helmet in the case of football. So, the chances of you developing this are pretty slim unless you continue to engage in activities that will cause you to receive blows to your head. Some docs believe that there is actually a genetic component to it because the majority of professional boxers and football players don't develop this disorder. Most likely, these people would have developed Alzheimers later in life regardless of how many head injuries they had. But that is just a theory and hasn't been proven true or false.
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Is it the case then that an accumulation of subconcussive blows are more damaging than a small number of concussions? I guess that depends how severe the concussions were.
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Also, doctors have yet to establish a link between concussions and dementia. Although, logically speaking, the two may be linked they have yet to definitevely establish a relationship. Another thing to keep in mind is that most of the people you hear about on the news regarding PCS and dementia never did anything to heal their brains. So, doctors don't know what the long term effects would be from someone who took the time to do the appropriate therapies for their brains. There are some that have though. Ever heard of a guy named Troy Aikmen? It is speculated that he did a ton of therapy, including neurofeedack, vision therapy, vestibular therapy, HBOT, etc., after he retired to get his brain back into shape. He was in pretty bad shape too, reporting having had 8 concussions that he was aware of. Doctors estimate that he probably had more like 20. He is now an emmy award winning broadcast analyst for fox.
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From what I've read though the indication is a history of concussion makes you far more likely to develop dementia. You say in the case of CE that 'the brain begins to accumulate tau proteins from years of serious insults and these proteins degrade brain tissue', but isn't damaged brain tissue damaged for good, or does therapy actually heal it? I was under the impression therapy just helps the brain adjust to its new formation, so any implication's of the original damage would remain. Your example of Troy Aikman seems to imply therapy helped avoid CE and/or dementia, but I may be getting the wrong message there. If therapy did lower the risk of later complications would it be logical to say the sooner you get it the better?
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Another thing to keep in mind is that we luckily live in the age of rapidly advancing medicine. So, doctors should have a treatment and/or cure for all neurological diseases within the next 10 years. So, even if you did start to go down that road, it may be treatable by that time.
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One would hope so but I remain pessimistic given the complexity and uncertainty regarding the brain, and the current prognosis for dementia sufferers.
Thought provoking stuff.
Edit: Mark, you certainly answered my question about acummulative blows to the head.