What new CTE research could mean for football players at every age

As high school football season ramps up across Central Florida, new research is raising fresh concerns about the potential long-term effects of repeated head injuries.A study of nearly 1,000 former NFL players found that at least 25% may have had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a degenerative brain disease associated with repeated head trauma.Researchers examined the brains of 338 former players who donated their brains to science. More than 93% of those donated brains showed evidence of CTE.The findings are drawing attention to the risks athletes may face long before they reach the professional level.Researchers say repeated head impacts can occur throughout a football player’s career, including during youth and high school sports. The new findings underscore the importance of understanding the potential long-term consequences of those impacts and continuing efforts to make the game safer.One major challenge is that CTE currently can only be definitively diagnosed after deat