PET study questions equity of NFL ’s concussion settlement

PET brain scans of former NFL players with dementia due to repetitive head impacts do not show typical signs of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study published October 5 in Alzheimer's Research and Therapy.The study has implications in how former players with dementia are treated and potentially compensated in the NFL’s ongoing controversial “concussion settlement,” noted first authors Robert Stern, PhD, and doctoral student Diana Trujillo-Rodriguez, of Boston University, and colleagues.“This class action settlement provides substantially higher monetary compensation to former players with a diagnosis of [Alzheimer's disease] than for players with similar cognitive impairment and dementia but without an [Alzheimer's disease] diagnosis,” the group wrote. Moreover, a potential yet difficult diagnosis in many of these cases may be a unique disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), according to the authors. CTE is a neurodegenerative disease caused by repetitive head impacts, but can only be definitively diagnosed in patients after their death, the researchers noted.Thus, the aim of the study was to explore whether amyloid PET scans could rule out Alzheimer’s disease in these cases and identify a potential gap in care for patients with potential CTE.The investigators examined 237 men between the ages of 45 and 74, including 119 former professional and 60 former college players, with and without cognitive impairment and dementia. They compared resu...
Source: AuntMinnie.com Headlines - Category: Radiology Authors: Tags: Molecular Imaging Source Type: news