Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, Boston University School of Medicine, MA 02118, USA.
Brain Imaging Behav. 2012 Jun;6(2):244-54. doi: 10.1007/s11682-012-9164-5.
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease thought to be caused, at least in part, by repetitive brain trauma, including concussive and subconcussive injuries. It is thought to result in executive dysfunction, memory impairment, depression and suicidality, apathy, poor impulse control, and eventually dementia. Beyond repetitive brain trauma, the risk factors for CTE remain unknown. CTE is neuropathologically characterized by aggregation and accumulation of hyperphosphorylated tau and TDP-43. Recent postmortem findings indicate that CTE may affect a broader population than was initially conceptualized, particularly contact sport athletes and those with a history of military combat. Given the large population that could potentially be affected, CTE may represent an important issue in public health. Although there has been greater public awareness brought to the condition in recent years, there are still many research questions that remain. Thus far, CTE can only be diagnosed post-mortem. Current research efforts are focused on the creation of clinical diagnostic criteria, finding objective biomarkers for CTE, and understanding the additional risk factors and underlying mechanism that causes the disease. This review examines research to date and suggests future directions worthy of exploration.
慢性创伤性脑病（CTE）被认为是一种神经退行性疾病，至少部分是由重复的脑创伤引起的，包括脑震荡和亚脑震荡损伤。它被认为会导致执行功能障碍、记忆障碍、抑郁和自杀倾向、冷漠、冲动控制差，最终导致痴呆。除了重复的脑创伤，CTE 的风险因素仍不清楚。CTE 的神经病理学特征是过度磷酸化的 tau 和 TDP-43 的聚集和积累。最近的尸检发现表明，CTE 可能影响的人群比最初设想的要广泛，特别是接触性运动运动员和有军事战斗史的人。鉴于可能受到影响的人群庞大，CTE 可能是公共卫生的一个重要问题。尽管近年来人们对这种疾病的认识有所提高，但仍有许多研究问题悬而未决。到目前为止，CTE 只能在死后诊断。目前的研究重点是制定临床诊断标准，寻找 CTE 的客观生物标志物，并了解导致疾病的其他风险因素和潜在机制。这篇综述考察了迄今为止的研究，并提出了值得探索的未来方向。
