National Sports Brain Bank

                                                                 

The National Sports Brain Bank (NSBB) is a long-term observational study and brain donation registry for former contact sport participants.

Background information:

Athletes who participate in contact sports such as football, soccer, boxing, wrestling, ice hockey and many others may have experienced one or more concussions or mild traumatic brain injury events during their career. This exposure is associated with an increased risk of cognitive and psychiatric syndromes later in life and the development of a neurodegenerative disease called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).

Due to the high profile of many afflicted players and broad media coverage, public awareness of this disease has increased significantly over the past years. However, there remains a large degree of uncertainty amongst players and their families who try to weigh the benefits of participation in contact sports against the potential health concerns. Much of this uncertainty relates to the fact that our understanding of this disease is still very limited. Currently, a definitive diagnosis of CTE can only be made by postmortem examination through a brain autopsy.