Overview
- Published in Alzheimer's & Dementia, the study examined 614 brain donors with histories of repetitive head impacts, isolating 366 with CTE alone and comparing them with 248 without CTE after excluding other progressive brain diseases.
- Stage IV CTE was associated with roughly four times the odds of dementia versus no CTE, stage III showed elevated risk, and stages I–II showed no association with dementia or cognition.
- Among donors diagnosed with dementia during life, 40% were told they had Alzheimer's disease despite no autopsy evidence of it, and 38% were told the cause was unknown or unspecified.
- The authors argue CTE should be formally classified among Alzheimer's-disease-related dementias and urge development of in-life diagnostic criteria and biomarkers to distinguish it from other causes.
- The research counters claims that CTE lacks clinical effects, underscores current diagnostic limitations, and was funded by NINDS, NIA, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Nick and Lynn Buoniconti Foundation.