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What if we could detect CTE through a simple blood draw? Join the BU CTE Center & the Concussion Legacy Foundation for a webinar on Tuesday, May 14 at 4 pm as we launch BANK CTE, a ground-breaking research study that aims to identify plasma biomarkers unique to CTE which would help scientists eventually diagnose the disease in living patients. Register using the link: https://t.co/uofwgfB9jo.

What is chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)? We continue to need more education to the public on CTE. I spoke with Natalie Lett from Boston University to help break it down. Check out this 2 minute video to learn more about CTE: https://lnkd.in/eUghwjA3

A story published in The New York Times provides insights from a participant's perspective into the research that we do at the BU Alzheimer's Disease Research Center on former National Hockey League players and other former athletes who have been exposed to repetitive head impacts. It is a hopeful article and message. Thank you to all of our research participants for your time and commitment to advancing the research and moving us closer to accurately detecting, diagnosing, and treating neurological conditions related to repetitive head impacts. https://lnkd.in/eU8vksvA

Sharing an essential resource from our partners at Concussion Legacy Foundation. A new CTE Guidebook for Patients & Caregivers, it’s an essential resource filled with practical information and support to help you navigate suspected CTE.

For today's CTE FAQ, we are discussing how to get CTE. Please feel free to comment or message us additional questions and visit bu.edu/cte to learn more and see additional FAQs.

The BU Alzheimer's Disease Research Center Research Day will be?Tuesday, March 4, from 1:00 to 5:00 pm in the Instructional Building Hiebert Lounge. Members of the BU community can learn more about opportunities available and the research being done at the BU ADRC. You can RSVP here: https://bit.ly/41w415c

Can we use tau positron emission tomography (PET) to detect?chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)?during life??Our new study published in Molecular Neurodegeneration?addressed this question: https://lnkd.in/dha5iV6c. Two studies were done: (1) 3H-MK-6240 autoradiography and an in-vitro binding studies on?autopsy-confirmed?CTE tissue,?and?(2)?in?vivo?18F-MK-6240 tau PET study in former National Football League (NFL) players. This is what we found: (1) Clear signal on 3H-MK-6240 autoradiography and high binding affinity (KD = 2.0) in one of six cases with autopsy-confirmed CTE stage III (high stage). Binding affinity in CTE case was less than an?Alzheimer's disease comparison (KD = 0.46).?Signal corresponded to the tau-immunoreactive lesions in the CTE case, but less prominent than the Alzheimer's disease case. The other CTE cases had sparse p-tau and?no?clear signal.? (2) The in vivo study of symptomatic?amyloid-PET negative former NFL players showed variable, low-medium intensity 18F-MK-6240 signal across?participants, including?16 with?no cortical signal,?7?with medial temporal lobe uptake,?2?with focal frontal uptake, and 4 with?both medial temporal lobe?+?frontal uptake.?Frontal and medial temporal lobes are affected in high stage CTE (stage III/IV).?Figure 2 (below) from the manuscript shows these different patterns in four former NFL players. (3) At the group level, former NFL players had greater 18F-MK-6240 uptake in the entorhinal cortex and the entire parahippocampal gyrus compared with?a?control group.?No group differences for cortical regions. (4) There?was?off-target meningeal binding in all cases. My interpretation of the data: inconclusive. 18F-MK-6240 might have value in high stage CTE when the tau is most dense particularly in the medial temporal lobes. It seems unlikely that 18F-MK-6240 will be an optimal, diagnostic biomarker for CTE p-tau pathology particularly at the low stages of disease. It will be challenging to detect low stage CTE using tau PET, in general. What works well for Alzheimer's disease might not be optimal for CTE! Discovery efforts needed! Sidebar: Team science at its best! This is the product of a National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) (Nsini Umoh) funded study, led by Dr. Gil Rabinovici and Renaud La Joie at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center and our team at the Boston University School of Medicine. The study involved efforts from many people and institutions including teams from the Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Boston Medical Center (BMC), Concussion Legacy Foundation (Christopher Nowinski, PhD), VA Boston Healthcare System, and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

The International Neuropsychological Society Annual Conference is this week in New Orleans. The Boston University CTE Center and BU Alzheimer's Disease Research Center have quite the representation from our incredible trainees and faculty: William Cole-French, Shania Baldwin, Jacob Labonte, Rachael Layden, Michael Walsh, Alinda Amuiri and Ashita Gurnani, PhD! Check them out below! Congratulations to you all.

Don't miss the highly anticipated Black Men's Brain Health Conference at Xavier University of Louisiana - New Orleans. Feb. 4-5th, 2025 XULA NOLA Secure your FREE tickets now! Register at: https://BIT.LY/2025BMBHC Get inspired by a lineup of experts who will share their insights and visions for the future, along with valuable networking opportunities. Join us in person or online. All are welcome. See you at the Big Easy! ?? #endalz #dementia #brainhealth #caregivers BlackMedia.com nolanews Philadelphia Eagles Kansas City Chiefs Sponsors: Alzheimer's Association? AMERICAN BRAIN COALITION Harmony Biosciences NFL Alumni Association Arizona State University Duke University Health System UNLV Sports Innovation Institute University of Nevada-Las Vegas Dillard University Xavier University of Louisiana The National Institutes of Health Tulane University Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California Cleveland Clinic

Take a look at the Live Science article below to learn more about CTE and hear from CTE Center director Ann McKee, MD. Read it here: https://lnkd.in/eUUB2RSY