Pat Grange was a healthy 27-year-old soccer player in 2010
when he was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) also known as
Lou Gehrig’s disease. He passed
away two years later.
ALS is a neurodegenerative disease that affects motor nerves
at their origin in the spinal cord.
It results in profound muscle wasting and loss of motor function. Its victims lose their ability to speak
and breathe. ALS does not affect
sensory function or the ability to think clearly.
Pat Grange’s situation was unique. He was much younger than the average patient with ALS and he
had suffered repeated head trauma in the form of heading the soccer ball. A previous study of Italian soccer
players showed that they were six times more likely to develop ALS than the normal
population.
Grange’s family generously donated his brain for study to
investigate a potential link between repeated head trauma and degeneration of
the nervous system that appears in the form of chronic traumatic encephalopathy
(CTE). Researchers reported that
based on the study of Grange’s brain there was a link.
The hallmark of CTE is the deposition of a protein in specific areas of the brain along with brain atrophy. It has been most widely reported in
football players and other athletes who play violent collision sports.
At this time, the diagnosis of CTE can only be made after a
person’s death. The finding of CTE
in Pat Grange is the first time it has been described in a soccer player.
Although some members of the scientific community have
speculated that there is a link between heading the ball and ALS, many believe
it is a premature conclusion.
Repeated blows to the head will result in chronic symptoms
and should be discouraged, especially in young athletes, but any link between
heading and CTE will require more study.
Dr. Alessi is a neurologist in Norwich and serves as an
on-air contributor for ESPN. He
can be reached at agalessi@alessimd.com
