Researchers at Boston University have identified a biomarker that they hope could help identify Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) in living patients.
In a new study, researchers found higher levels of a protein called CCL11 in the brains of former players with CTE.
The research studied 23 players posthumously diagnosed with CTE, 50 non-athlete brains with Alzheimer’s disease and 18 non-athlete control subjects.
“Not only did this research show the potential for CTE diagnosis during life, but it also offers a possible mechanism for distinguishing between CTE and other diseases,” said Dr Jonathan Cherry, the author of the study, in a release.
“By making it possible to distinguish between normal individuals, individuals with Alzheimer’s disease, and CTE therapies can become more targeted and hopefully more effective.”
The study said there needs to be more research done on the link between CCL11 and CTE before determining if it can predict the disease.
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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