Stan Mikita had Stage 3 CTE

[Habsfan18]

https://www.tsn.ca/hockey-hall-of-famer-stan-mikita-suffered-from-cte-researcher-says-1.1365391

Not sure if this is the correct place to be posting this (mods can feel free to move the thread elsewhere).

Stan Mikita is the latest in the line of ex-NHLers to have been found to suffer from CTE after research was done on them after passing away. Very sad situation and I’m afraid it’s only going to become more and more prevalent.

Other NHL players who have been diagnosed with CTE include Bob Probert, Derek Boogaard, Jeff Parker, Wade Belak, Larry Zeidel, Reggie Fleming, Rick Martin, Steve Montador, Zarley Zalapski, Todd Ewen and Dan Maloney. Four former junior hockey players, who all died of suicide before the age of 30, have also tested positive for the disease.

Click to read more...

 

[Big Phil]

It is a sad case for sure, although Mikita was, what, 78 when he died? I mean, my grandfather had Parkinson's when he died at 75, it isn't unusual at that age even if you haven't been hit in the head. Plus Mikita went a large part of his career without a helmet.

Nowadays, you know the risks of contact sports. I get the feeling you did back then too. I know there is this idea that we are just learning this sort of thing but if you asked a bunch of doctors in the 1970s the affects of a person getting hit in the head repeatedly they would have an answer for you similar to today. By the late 1970s you could already see Muhammad Ali slowing down, slurring his speech, etc.

 

[Staniowski]

https://www.tsn.ca/hockey-hall-of-famer-stan-mikita-suffered-from-cte-researcher-says-1.1365391

Not sure if this is the correct place to be posting this (mods can feel free to move the thread elsewhere).

Stan Mikita is the latest in the line of ex-NHLers to have been found to suffer from CTE after research was done on them after passing away. Very sad situation and I’m afraid it’s only going to become more and more prevalent.

And there is undoubtedly a very long list of other hockey players who have died who had CTE but were undiagnosed.

 

[DowntownBooster]

It is a sad case for sure, although Mikita was, what, 78 when he died? I mean, my grandfather had Parkinson's when he died at 75, it isn't unusual at that age even if you haven't been hit in the head. Plus Mikita went a large part of his career without a helmet.

You make a good point. As far as I could tell, Makita was very articulate and coherent anytime he was interviewed. He had a sharp memory regarding his playing career as well as those of others. It seemed the effects of CTE were only evident in the short period before his passing.

 

[Eisen]

Differential diagnosis of dementia pugilistica is different from other forms of dementia. This wasn't just Parkinson.
Also, in early stages you wouldn't just see it interviews. The obvious cognitive shortcomings are seen in an advanced stage.

 

[Eisen]

It is a sad case for sure, although Mikita was, what, 78 when he died? I mean, my grandfather had Parkinson's when he died at 75, it isn't unusual at that age even if you haven't been hit in the head. Plus Mikita went a large part of his career without a helmet.

Nowadays, you know the risks of contact sports. I get the feeling you did back then too. I know there is this idea that we are just learning this sort of thing but if you asked a bunch of doctors in the 1970s the affects of a person getting hit in the head repeatedly they would have an answer for you similar to today. By the late 1970s you could already see Muhammad Ali slowing down, slurring his speech, etc.

It was definitely known. I have no idea where this notion comes from that this is a new diagnosis.

 

[scott clam]

"The Devil and Bobby Hull" by Gare Joyce makes a pretty strong case for the chronic brain damage that Stan's co-star suffers from.

Highly recommended(although I'm guessing half of you guys have already read it.)

 

[Pominville Knows]

"The Devil and Bobby Hull" by Gare Joyce makes a pretty strong case for the chronic brain damage that Stan's co-star suffers from.

Highly recommended(although I'm guessing half of you guys have already read it.)

Enlighten us a bit please on Hull's supposed condition.

 

[tarheelhockey]

It was definitely known. I have no idea where this notion comes from that this is a new diagnosis.

Dementia pugilistica was known in the same way that smoking was known to hurt your health. Simple observation told you that something was up.

What's new is an understanding of the mechanism. For a long time, even into the late 1990s, there was a general sense that you could sustain brain damage from a big hit to the head -- your typical sports fan was aware that the brain could be bruised or caused to bleed, resulting in incoherence. Your guy on the street would look at Muhammad Ali and say, of course the guy who gets punched in the head for a living has a broken brain. Look, he has a squashed nose and puffy ears too. Go figure, things break when you hit them.

But there was no real understanding that sub-concussive impacts could add up to self-sustaining degeneration of the brain over the rest of a lifetime. That even the ordinary contact you experience during a game -- bumping your head on the glass in the corner, heading a soccer ball, helmet-to-helmet contact on the offensive line -- can add up to a degenerative disease that would ordinarily be experienced at end-of-life. To extend the metaphor, that's like finding out that second-hand smoke can kill. All of a sudden you've got millions of people sitting in the family station wagon with a lit cigarette, coming to a very unpleasant awakening.

 

[Staniowski]

Dementia pugilistica was known in the same way that smoking was known to hurt your health. Simple observation told you that something was up.

What's new is an understanding of the mechanism. For a long time, even into the late 1990s, there was a general sense that you could sustain brain damage from a big hit to the head -- your typical sports fan was aware that the brain could be bruised or caused to bleed, resulting in incoherence. Your guy on the street would look at Muhammad Ali and say, of course the guy who gets punched in the head for a living has a broken brain. Look, he has a squashed nose and puffy ears too. Go figure, things break when you hit them.

But there was no real understanding that sub-concussive impacts could add up to self-sustaining degeneration of the brain over the rest of a lifetime. That even the ordinary contact you experience during a game -- bumping your head on the glass in the corner, heading a soccer ball, helmet-to-helmet contact on the offensive line -- can add up to a degenerative disease that would ordinarily be experienced at end-of-life. To extend the metaphor, that's like finding out that second-hand smoke can kill. All of a sudden you've got millions of people sitting in the family station wagon with a lit cigarette, coming to a very unpleasant awakening.

Also, it doesn't need to he a hit to the head. Anything that causes the brain to move inside the head can cause problems. So, a big hit to the shoulder, for example, can possibly cause a concussion.

 

[Eisen]

Dementia pugilistica was known in the same way that smoking was known to hurt your health. Simple observation told you that something was up.

What's new is an understanding of the mechanism. For a long time, even into the late 1990s, there was a general sense that you could sustain brain damage from a big hit to the head -- your typical sports fan was aware that the brain could be bruised or caused to bleed, resulting in incoherence. Your guy on the street would look at Muhammad Ali and say, of course the guy who gets punched in the head for a living has a broken brain. Look, he has a squashed nose and puffy ears too. Go figure, things break when you hit them.

But there was no real understanding that sub-concussive impacts could add up to self-sustaining degeneration of the brain over the rest of a lifetime. That even the ordinary contact you experience during a game -- bumping your head on the glass in the corner, heading a soccer ball, helmet-to-helmet contact on the offensive line -- can add up to a degenerative disease that would ordinarily be experienced at end-of-life. To extend the metaphor, that's like finding out that second-hand smoke can kill. All of a sudden you've got millions of people sitting in the family station wagon with a lit cigarette, coming to a very unpleasant awakening.

Your explanation clears up my confusion about why it's perceived as new. You are right. It was for a long time anecdotal.
As a diagnosis (only posthumous, unfortunately) it was only established as late as the 70s with no full understanding of it.

 

[scott clam]

Enlighten us a bit please on Hull's supposed condition.

Alcoholism, blackouts, domestic violence - "punch drunk syndrome"

Not that all of those things can be attributed solely to brain trauma but there is a common correlation.

Lots of guys I know who got hit in the head a lot from sports or fights have this problem. They drink and drink and fly into a blind rage and can't remember a thing the next morning. Then they get drunk again because they're alcoholics.

Some guys develop a sensitivity to light, that's another sign.

The book claims that Hull had to put up with more abuse than any other star of his era and suffered numerous undiagnosed concussions. The results of these injuries revealed themselves in his turbulent personal life. The book also details how when he would have conversations with people that he would be lucid but slip in and out of mini "fugue" or "blank" states.

 

[CokenoPepsi]

Alcoholism, blackouts, domestic violence - "punch drunk syndrome"

Not that all of those things can be attributed solely to brain trauma but there is a common correlation.

Lots of guys I know who got hit in the head a lot from sports or fights have this problem. They drink and drink and fly into a blind rage and can't remember a thing the next morning. Then they get drunk again because they're alcoholics.

Some guys develop a sensitivity to light, that's another sign.

The book claims that Hull had to put up with more abuse than any other star of his era and suffered numerous undiagnosed concussions. The results of these injuries revealed themselves in his turbulent personal life. The book also details how when he would have conversations with people that he would be lucid but slip in and out of mini "fugue" or "blank" states.

Would this help explain some of his other more lets just say...questionable views like to a certain Russian newspaper?

He not always there

 

[scott clam]

Would this help explain some of his other more lets just say...questionable views like to a certain Russian newspaper?

He not always there

Too much vodka maybe? I mean if you want to talk about your all time drinking cultures not even Ireland can touch Russia

 

[sr edler]

People have known about the ills of smoking for over 110 years. For instance, I read about speed skater Morris Wood in the early 1910s, it was a no-no because it harmed his breathing.

I wont believe people back then believed you could knock your head around aimlessly at things and it didn't have any negative effects. People weren't stupid back then more than they are nowadays. Sometimes culture is culture though and people do things anyways despite knowledge. Like drinking too much alcohol, or eating too much sugar, or staring too much into a computer screen.

 

[VanIslander]

Yashin never did.