What are the chances that I have Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy?
 

Something that's been bothering me lately is that question.

Also worried about Parkinson's Disease.

Reason I'm worried about it is because I'm having symptoms beyond Post-Concussion Syndrome.

I've been having some severe tremors, and also there is something going on that is really hard to explain. I'll be fine, feeling good for a few days then all of a sudden my mind will literally feel like it's gone mad. I'll be confused, have trouble walking, my right arm will feel...off as far as coordination (like it will feel weird holding something in that hand, like it's offset). Feels like something is attacking my brain. This happened to me last night and I'm still feeling the effects of it today. I'm feeling real confused, I couldn't even talk to the receptionist at my neurologists office over the phone this morning. I woke up this morning literally confused and feeling like I had amnesia. Light dementia?

My last CT was in October I believe, I had blood work done in the ER a few weeks back - both came back clean. I had an MRI done yesterday with contrast and I get the results of that today. If this is something more than PCS will it show in the MRI?

I might of had a concussion before, I mean, I hit my head of course when I was younger and I was jumped when I was about 18-19 but I didn't end up hospitalized or have any concussion symptoms. My most recent injury was in June - had a 1cm bleed contusion and hematoma.

IMPRESSION:
1. Subtle areas of susceptibility artifact in the high left frontal lobe near the vertex as well as in the inferolateral left frontal lobe, just above the orbit. There is associated encephalomalacia in the latter lesion. Findings would be compatible with old traumatic injury. Correlation with prior images would be helpful.
2 Mild inflammatory change in the right maxillary sinus.

I seen the word encephalmalacia and freaked out. What's that mean? The lady that went over the report with me was in a rush..basically said that the MRI is normal and all it shows is damage from the injury in June.

I have minimal encephalomalacia on temporal lobe and very minimal on frontal lobe. It is softening of the brain.

Many TBI patients have this and brain finds new pathways as much it can and some with this type of injury recover completely (or close to it). Basically nothing much to worry about.

Unfortunately, once injury to the brain has occured, neurons (brain cells) are lost and are not regrown.

Perhaps one day, stem cell therapy may prove helpful in this regard but for now there are no current treatments available to treat this type of brain injury and replace injured brain cells. (you can google it)

Nick,

Your biggest concern should be dealing with your anxiety. You are taking very small issues and making them huge, or uge as Donald Trump would say.

The encephalomalacia is basically the residual of the bruising from your June injury. It is an area of brain tissue that is dying and will slowly be absorbed. It is likely mostly a pool of the blood that has not yet been fully absorbed. Likely, there is damaged vasculature in this area that limits the blood flow that would carry off the damaged matter.

It is nothing like encephalopathy, which is atrophy or shrinking due to brain cells dying throughout the brain. CTE is a long term repetitive shrinking of the brain matter due to repeated traumas. It takes years to develop and show on the images. The symptoms are slowly progressive, not quickly manifesting like after your injury.

Your tremors can be from a number of things. They can be completely stress caused. They can be related to a neck injury. It can result from a poor night's sleep. There are other rare causes. Doctors will often call it idiopathic, meaning it is happening but they do not know why. Sometimes, they will call it somatoform which really means the same but some doctors use somatoform when they mean psycho-somatic, meaning it is caused by psychological issues.

So, stop worrying. It is only making things worse. Consider my signature verse. Be still.

My best to you.

CTE will not show on any type of scan and will certainly not be the result of one minor injury. diffusion MRI (DTI) will show if you have brain injuries but it is unlikely from your history since you were no in a coma.

Hi Space Cadet, not every thing you described, but a good portion of it is something I have been experiencing for the last 5-8 years. I have had 7 major diagnosed concussions and a fractured temporal lobe during my last traumatic incident. There are times that I feel in complete control, then without any by nor leave I become completely disoriented and overwhelmed by a feeling of helplessness, overcome by a feeling of malaise an not knowing what I am experiencing is real( like a semi dream state); this is often accompanied by severe downswings in mood and neurological symptoms such as numbness and tingling of my 4th and 5th finger on my left hand.

Can I ask you something personal, do you have a wife or girlfriend? And if so, how do you deal with their understanding of CTE; my wife becomes livid with me when I forget, or become disoriented to the point that she has separated from me once already before we eventually reconciled, are there any resources that you are aware of that could help her understand what we are experiencing. Cheers for any help you can offer