What looks like Parkinson’s may not be in CTE patients

BOSTON — Doctors have long known the link between contact sports and the development of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy or CTE. That disorder, brought on by years and years of hits to the head, causes patients to experience memory loss, confusion, depression, and anxiety. Some become violent or even suicidal.

And a sizable chunk of those with CTE will also develop the symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease.

“Most people complain of general slowness of movement, maybe a shuffling gait, a tremor, and sometimes a stiffness of the arms and legs,” said Thor Stein, MD, PhD, an associate professor and researcher at Boston University School of Medicine.

But Stein and others discovered that most CTE patients with Parkinson’s symptoms don’t actually have Parkinson’s Disease. They just have CTE. The researchers came to that conclusion after studying the donated brains of around 500 deceased CTE patients. They found that in those with a medical history of Parkinson’s Disease, 76% did not have the protein deposits characteristic of that disorder, known as Lewy Bodies. Their conclusion: CTE alone can cause symptoms resembling Parkinson’s Disease.

“Both are actually killing the cells that are responsible for modulating or adjusting your movement,” Stein said. “The same kind of symptoms result, but it’s a different pathology that’s causing it.”

It’s unknown whether the drugs commonly used to treat Parkinson’s Disease, for example the levodopa/carbidopa medication known as Sinemet, are as effective at easing symptoms when they’re caused by CTE. But Stein said it’s possible their discovery could lead to new treatments.

Stein said it also appears the CTE-induced Parkinson’s is, like true Parkinson’s, progressive. It also appears there’s a link between the number of years of contact sport play and severity of Parkinsonian symptoms. High school athletes who play for just four years are at very low risk of developing CTE, Stein said. The risk increases after that — in part because play also becomes increasingly more physical at the college and professional levels.

“If we really limit the number of years of play, I think we can make a big impact on public health,” Stein said.

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