Former NFL QB Matt Hasselbeck part of latest CTE frontier - diagnosing brain disease in the living

Key Points:

• Former NFL quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, who experienced multiple head impacts during his career, recently underwent brain scans and tests at Boston University to help advance research on diagnosing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in living individuals.
• CTE, a degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head trauma, currently can only be diagnosed post-mortem and shares symptoms with Alzheimer’s, complicating diagnosis; ongoing studies aim to find specific markers to differentiate and detect CTE in the living.
• The Boston University-led study involves former football players and Alzheimer's patients without head trauma history, with participants like Hasselbeck and former college linebacker Bryan Savage volunteering to donate their brains for research to accelerate understanding.
• Hasselbeck noted a cultural shift in the NFL regarding concussion awareness during his career, from a "tough it out" mentality to greater honesty and safety focus, and hopes his involvement in research will further improve player health outcomes.
• The National Institutes of Health is funding this $15 million research initiative, which seeks to develop accurate diagnostic tools for CTE to enable future treatment trials and enhance brain health for athletes exposed to repeated head injuries.