Part 1: Bibliographic Entry: 

Moran, Barbara. “BU Researchers Find CTE in 99% of Former NFL Players Studied.” Boston University, 26 July 2017, www.bu.edu/articles/2017/cte-former-nfl-players/#:%7E:text=The%20study%2C%20published%20Tuesday%20in,of%20high%20school%20football%20players.   

Part 2: Terminology/Keywords:

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)

Neurology

Pathology 

Tau protein 

Axonal

Inflammation

Part 3: Précis:

The author begins in an informative style. She simply lists the results of a test done surveying the brains of 202 former football players. After presenting the statistics and thereby illustrating to the audience how severe the issue is, the author then lists the effects the disease has on those that suffer from it. The author lists depression, anxiety, memory loss, etc. to present the dangers of this highly common disease amongst players. By listing the high percentages of people suffering and the symptoms they suffer from, the author’s point on the severity of CTE is made.

Part 4: Reflection:

Based on the way the author presents her information, there is no way to disagree. She simply lists the results of a study she has done. A speculation to make about the authors research is that there is no true control group in the experiment as all the players whose brains were studied had shown signs of the disease. One thing that I would like to see from the author would be to study the brains of football players who had lived perfectly normal after their football days and see if even they had some sign of the disease. 

Part 5: Quotables:

“Of the 202 brains studied, the group diagnosed 177 with CTE, including 110 of 111 from the NFL players (99 percent); 7 of 8 from the Canadian Football League (88 percent); 9 of 14 semi-professional players (64 percent); 48 of 53 college players (91 percent), and 3 of 14 high school players (21 percent). (Moran, 2017)”

“The data suggest that there is very likely a relationship between exposure to football and risk of developing the disease. (Moran, 2017)”

“Most striking, the researchers observed clinical symptoms such as depression, anxiety, disinhibition, memory loss, and other mood and behavior impairments even in patients with fairly mild CTE pathology. (Moran, 2017)”