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Football, combat brain trauma similar

Study finds that head injuries in players, veterans cause comparable impairments

By Kay Lazar

 |  Globe Staff  

  May 16, 2012

The same type of brain damage identified in 14 deceased professional football players has been pinpointed in veterans who endured bomb blasts in Iraq and Afghanistan - a finding that raises concerns that numerous other military personnel may be vulnerable to similar long-term impairments. An international team of researchers led by Boston scientists said in a study published Wednesday that they discovered chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, in the brains of four young veterans after their deaths.

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