This article talks about a former NFL football player that committed suicide. After the suicide, The family donated his brain to neuroscientists at the National Institutes for Health and they concluded that Junior Seau had suffered a debilitating brain disease. This brain damage was caused by severe blows to the head and concussions from playing football. The team of scientists put a name to Seau's disease saying it was chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
The symptoms for this disease include dementia, mood swings, depression, impulsiveness and suicidal ideation. Seau's family described to reporters that their husband/father had suffered from depression the last couple years of his life. Seau committed suicide using a gun. The last message the family received from Seau was a text message the night before his suicide saying, "I love you."
Today, the NFL is doing everything in their power to prevent concussions and head injuries as best they can. Instances like this one go to show how dangerous something like a concussion can be and how people should take them very seriously.
In the last couple of years it seems as if concussions have become the feared front runner of sport's related injuries,and for good reason. Concussions can cause severe brain damage as Morgan's article about Junior Seau's suicide exemplifies. The idea that a classic American-loved sport could severly damage players of any age at any time is very frightening especially if you are sending your young sons out onto the field for the first time.I think it is very important that they keep informing players and other individuals about concussions and how to treat and prevent them. On t.v I saw that the program "60 minutes," that encourages kids to get out and exercise for an hour, has started a new program that teaches kids how to play with their head up so as to avoid getting a serious hit to the head. Programs like this should be encouraged and kept up with.
ReplyDeleteMorgan I found this article very interesting! Concussions have become so common that its scary. I feel like I hear of one alomost every month or two. Its crazy to think that they could be causing perminate brain damage. Its clear in this case that the blows to his head caused him to have a lasting brain issue that lead to his own sucide. Its sad to think that this was something that could have been prevented.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that concussions can cause this disease called CTE and cause symptoms of "dementia, mood swings, depression, impulsiveness and suicidal ideation." It makes me wonder about how polio is contracted as we are learning about that disease now. A common system of polio is paralysis, which is related to the spine which connects to the skull. So, I wonder if polio is somehow spread through something occurring in the spine of a human as the disease in your article was caused by numerous concussions. This article is very interesting, as we often connect diseases with bacteria and viruses, yet this disease was caused by multiple blows to the head. This article proves that diseases have several, tricky ways of invading the human body and we must be cautious of all these factors, especially football players in your article's situation.
ReplyDeleteI have had many concussions, so when I saw the title of this post I had to read more. It is scary how much a simple hit on the head can affect someone. I've suffered from memory loss and my personality changed greatly for awhile. I'm always tired, and it's a constant effort to pay attention. I love football but it is sad that these men risk their lives to play.
ReplyDeleteMorg, great article choice seeing that concussions relate so closely to all of our lives in high school sports. Within the past couple of years they have gotten more and more popular and more of a concern. The risk you are at by playing any sport is so high and the side effects of a concussion are terrible and in some cases life changing. After reading this article, no wonder why people take head injuries and concussions so seriously no a days.
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