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Chronic traumatic encephalopathy: a potential late effect of sport-related concussive and subconcussive head trauma
Gavett BE, Stern RA, McKee AC.. Clinics in sports medicine, 2011-01-01
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a form of neurodegeneration believed to result from repeated head injuries. Originally termed dementia pugilistica because of its association with boxing, the neuropathology of CTE was first described by Corsellis in 1973 in a case series of 15 retired boxers. CTE has recently been found to occur after other causes of repeated head trauma, suggesting that any repeated blows to the head, such as those that occur in American football, hockey, soccer, professional wrestling, and physical abuse, can also lead to neurodegenerative changes. These changes often include cerebral atrophy, cavum septi pellucidi with fenestrations, shrinkage of the mammillary bodies, dense tau immunoreactive inclusions (neurofibrillary tangles, glial tangles, and neuropil neurites), and, in some cases, a TDP-43 proteinopathy. In association with these pathologic changes, disordered memory and executive functioning, behavioral and personality disturbances (eg, apathy, depression, irritability, impulsiveness, suicidality), parkinsonism, and, occasionally, motor neuron disease are seen in affected individuals. No formal clinical or pathologic diagnostic criteria for CTE currently exist, but the distinctive neuropathologic profile of the disorder lends promise for future research into its prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
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APA 7th
Gavett, B. E., Stern, R. A., & McKee, A. C. (2011). Chronic traumatic encephalopathy: a potential late effect of sport-related concussive and subconcussive head trauma. Clinics in sports medicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csm.2010.09.007
Vancouver
Gavett BE, Stern RA, McKee AC. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy: a potential late effect of sport-related concussive and subconcussive head trauma. Clinics in sports medicine. 2011. doi:10.1016/j.csm.2010.09.007. PMID: 21074091.
BibTeX
@article{gavett2011-21074091,
author = {Gavett, B. E. and Stern, R. A. and McKee, A. C.},
title = {{Chronic traumatic encephalopathy: a potential late effect of sport-related concussive and subconcussive head trauma}},
journal = {Clinics in sports medicine},
year = {2011},
doi = {10.1016/j.csm.2010.09.007},
pmid = {21074091},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csm.2010.09.007}
}
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Key findings
- Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a form of neurodegeneration believed to result from repeated head injuries.
- CTE has recently been found to occur after other causes of repeated head trauma, suggesting that any repeated blows to the head, such as those that occur in American football, hockey, soccer, professional wrestling, and physical abuse, can also lead to neurodegenerative changes.
Why it matters
This review describes chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a brain disease believed — not proven — to follow repeated blows to the head. First described in 15 retired boxers, it has since been reported after American football, hockey, soccer, professional wrestling and physical abuse. The authors list its brain changes (shrinkage, tau tangles, sometimes TDP-43 protein) and the problems seen alongside them: memory and planning trouble, mood and personality changes including depression and suicidality, and parkinsonism. When it was written there were no formal criteria for diagnosing CTE, and it reports no data on how common CTE is or who will develop it.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 49/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Clinics in sports medicine) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | Clinics in Sports Medicine: journal h-index 130 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2011 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 696 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 40.9 citations a year over 17 year(s) since 2011 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 27.8× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 11 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 50 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Ann Carolyn McKee: h-index 104 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Boston University: institution h-index 1,456 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 21074091) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 49 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.1016/j.csm.2010.09.007
- PubMed: 21074091
- Original source →
- Free full text: Clinics in Sports Medicine →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
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