PITTSBURGH (PTTP) – Last year around May 18, 2023, The University of Pittsburgh’s Medical School kicked off a new research project known as the National Sports Brain Bank (NSBB). The prioritized demographic of this project is professional and recreational athletes involved with various contact sports to further understand consequential traumatic injuries.
The study’s initial task is to examine participating athletes individually over a long range of time, observing their athletic careers and holistic and personal development. The evaluations per stage of this study are set to occur once a year. Down the line, later steps will prioritize researching participants’ brains (through a neuropathological stance), once and after they are deceased.
Most importantly, researchers seek to recognize how contact sports and related injuries particularly connect to symptoms related to neurodegenerative diseases. Specific diseases in this category include Alzheimer’s disease, ALS, and most notably, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), being their prime concern. Another significant goal of the resulting research is how to further modify and improve criteria related to diagnosing CTE, especially for both major and minor traumatic brain injuries. Moreover, the research team will also recruit athletes regardless of if they have direct symptoms of neurodegenerative diseases, or not. Pitt’s NSBB program is cooperating with connected research facilities and programs across the nation and worldwide that are heavily involved in researching CTE and other neurodegenerative illnesses.
The appointed director of this brain bank program is currently Dr.Julie Kofler, who also has lead positions in the Division of Neuropathology in the School of Medicine and the University’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. She is also joined by Neurology and Psychiatry professor at Pitt, Dr. Oscar Lopez.
As of March 8, 2024, a recorded number of nearly 190 participants initially signed up for the NSBB, including various noteworthy volunteers. Firstly, some of them include retired Pittsburgh Steelers players, such as NFL Hall of Famer, Jerome Bettis and fellow former running back, Meril Hoge. Additionally, other notable volunteers include well-respected and acknowledged neurosurgeons, who are also former Division I athletes: Regis Haid (neurosurgeon affiliated with Pitt and former referral Doctor for the Steelers) and Joseph Maroon (former president of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons). Recently, retired and remarkable Pittsburgh-KDKA host and University of Tennessee Football Alumni, Joe Burnett, shared his story about his CTE diagnosis and participating in the NSBB live on KDKA.
For more information:
Click here to view Pitt’s NSBB research website
https://www.neuro.pathology.pitt.edu/national-sports-brain-bank/national-sports-brain-bank-goals
Click here to read more about CTE and the original announcement of NSBB
Click here to read about Joe Burnett’s featured KDKA story
https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/former-kdka-tv-jon-burnett-suspected-cte-diagnosis/
Credit: UCM (University of Communications and Marketing)