CTE, tau protein plaques, and strange behavior

gravenewworld

So how exactly do tau plaques resulting from CTE cause strange behavior? Jr. Seau was found dead due to suicide, several hockey enforcers have died violently or due to drug overdoses just recently, and Chris Benoit murdered himself and his whole family. What is the understood physiology behind this that is known to date?

Ryan_m_b

Please note that when broaching an unusual topic it is practical and polite to post a brief explanation of what you are talking about

As it stands Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a very rare condition (less than 50 cases reported). It seems that damage to the brain, especially over time, results in an accumulation of tau proteins which lead to neurodegeneration. The symptoms of this include memory loss, aggression, confusion, depression and eventually Parkinson like symptoms.

For further reading this paper is quite comprehensive on the symptoms and progression of the disorder.

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in Athletes: Progressive Tauopathy following Repetitive Head Injury
Ann C. McKee, MD, Robert C. Cantu, MD, et al (2010)