What Is CTE?
Boston University has a global reputation for its work on a progressive neurodegenerative disease known as CTE. Its researchers have diagnosed football Hall of Famers and European soccer stars, as well as amateur athletes and Army veterans. But what is CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy? And why does it seem to affect so many who played contact sports?
As part of The Brink’s special CTE series, we asked Boston University College of Communication undergraduate Natalie Lett to dig into—and break down—the science behind the disease. In the video above, she chats with Michael L. Alosco, a BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine associate professor of neurology, asking him what BU researchers have learned about CTE, from what causes it to how it’s diagnosed.
“I’m interested in talking about science topics in a fun way that can be interesting to anyone,” says Lett (COM’27).
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