Earlier this year, UCLA researchers debuted a process that could scan living human brains for the disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy. It was something previously thought that doctors could only do with brains posthumously. The study even had members of the NFL's Head, Neck and Spine Committee cautiously optimistic.
"This is the holy grail if it works. This is what we've been waiting for, but it looks like it's probably preliminary to say they've got it," Dr. Robert Cantu, a senior adviser to the NFL's Head, Neck and Spine Committee and co-director of Boston University's Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, said last January. "But if they do have it, this is exactly what we need."
About a dozen former NFL players have undergone the scan, including Hall of Fame running back Tony Dorsett, Hall of Famer Joe DeLamielleure and the former All-Pro defensive lineman Leonard Marshall, who all said the tests showed they had signs of CTE.
However, The New York Times reported that new tests for brain trauma have created hope but also a new round of skepticism.
The director of the company that runs the tests said the skepticism is being fueled by the media instead of being embraced.
The Times report said the former players did not pay to take the test. Besides, the FDA has to approve the biomarker process, and CTE still has many questions as a clinically accepted diagnosis. However, the small sample size has scientist wondering about the merit in the UCLA research.
-- Bill Bradley, contributing editor