Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Presenting as Alzheimer’s Disease in a Retired Soccer Player

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Grinberg, Lea T.^{a; b; c} | Anghinah, Renato^d | Nascimento, Camila Fernandes^b | Amaro Jr, Edson^e | Leite, Renata P.^f | Martin, Maria da Graça M.^e | Naslavsky, Michel S.^g | Takada, Leonel T.^d | Filho, Wilson Jacob^f | Pasqualucci, Carlos A.^b | Nitrini, Ricardo^{d; *}

Affiliations: [a] Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA | [b] Department of Pathology – LIM-22, University of São Paulo Medical School, São Paulo, Brazil | [c] Hospital Albert Einstein, São Paulo, Brazil | [d] Department of Neurology, University of São Paulo Medical School, São Paulo, Brazil | [e] Institute of Radiology, University of São Paulo Medical School, São Paulo, Brazil | [f] Division of Geriatrics, University of São Paulo Medical School, São Paulo, Brazil | [g] Human Genome Research Center, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Ricardo Nitrini, MD, PhD, Full Professor and Chair, Department of Neurology, University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Av. Dr. 15 Enéas de Carvalho Aguiar, 255, Cerqueira César, São Paulo, SP, 05403-000, Brazil. Tel.: +55 11 3061 8249; E-mail: rnitrini@uol.com.br.

Abstract: The relationship between soccer and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is not well established. We report clinicopathological correlations in an 83-year-old retired center-back soccer player, with no history of concussion, manifesting typical Alzheimer-type dementia. Examination revealed mixed pathology including widespread CTE, moderate Alzheimer’s disease, hippocampal sclerosis, and TDP-43 proteinopathy. This case adds to a few CTE cases described in soccer players. Furthermore, it corroborates that CTE may present clinically as typical Alzheimer-type dementia. Further studies investigating the extent to which soccer is a risk for CTE are needed.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, autopsy, chronic post-traumatic encephalopathy, dementia, humans, soccer

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-160312

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 54, no. 1, pp. 169-174, 2016