BOSTON – Submerged in chemicals in the stainless-steel bowl is the key to life and, researchers hope, death. “There is no current way to diagnose CTE in a living person, despite what you might hear.” By Nancy Armour, August 24, 2018, USA TODAY. Currently, CTE can be diagnosed only by examining the brains of deceased victims to look for a distinctive pattern of tau deposits.

Researchers close in on CTE diagnosis in living, one brain at a time. “CTE is not a clinical diagnosis; there are no MRI or CT scans we can order,” says Lorincz, noting that a recent study analyzing spinal fluid to detect CTE has a long way to go before approval and use. The first case of a living person to be diagnosed with the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is described in a …

Researchers confirm the first identifciation of the degenerative brain disease CTE in a living person, previously only determined wiht a brain exam after death.