Definition of chronic traumatic encephalopathy
: a progressive neurological disease that is found especially in athletes (such as boxers, wrestlers, or football players) who have experienced repetitive, mild injury to the brain and that is characterized by short-term memory loss, concentration deficits, confusion, depression, behavioral and personality changes (such as an increase in irritability, impulsivity, or aggression), speech and gait abnormalities, parkinsonism, and dementia
—abbreviation CTE
— called also
dementia pugilistica, punch-drunk syndrome
Note:
The neurological deterioration of chronic traumatic encephalopathy is accompanied by atrophy of the frontal and temporal lobes and accumulation of tau protein in neurofibrillary tangles.
