Think critically about for-profit donor entities and their commitments to health

At my job as a primary care doctor in a federal safety net clinic, I was given a free T-shirt to wear the following day. It reads “Crucial Catch — Intercept Cancer” in between the logos of the National Football League (NFL) and the American Cancer Society (ACS). This celebrates the 8-year partnership of almost $18 million dollars donated to fund cancer screening and prevention. These philanthropic gestures of large donors help to fund valuable projects and raise visibility, as demonstrated by my entire clinic staff getting ready to sport their campaign gear. However, recent history of the NFL delineates motives which are not aligned with health and wellness of their players, and such philanthropic gestures from large corporations warrant speculation. While the NFL shows collaborative and financial support for cancer, the relationship is more complicated with another disease: chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). This neurodegenerative disease can be diagnosed post-mortem on autopsy, and current research overwhelmingly depicts a strong correlation of this disease and football players. In a landmark study, McKee et al discovered 110 of 111 donated brains from former NFL players had CTE, most with severe pathology who had exhibited cognitive and behavioral symptoms. New research in mouse models show physical impact injury from hits, independent of concussion, correlates with CTE pathology. Concern continues rising for the health and welfare of past football ...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Physician Cardiology Neurology Source Type: blogs