Transcripts For CSPAN Traumatic Brain Injuries 20171125 : vi

Mr. Pallone thank you, all, for being here today. I want to thank all of our participants at this joint energy and commerce and judiciary democratic forum. I want to thank our Judiciary Committee Ranking Member i call him chairman, mr. Conyers. I havent been in this position so i can refer to you as chairman but not myself. So thank you, chairman conyers, for joining us to examine the longterm impacts of repetitive brain traumatic and particular trauma associated with sports. I look forward to the dialogue. Every week this time of the year Football Players at all levels take the field and engage in a contact sport they enjoy playing but may be harmful to their health in the future. There are a lot of concerning questions that we will discuss today. At the very least athletes and their families need to know they are being informed about the health risk and the risks associated with Contact Sports are being mitigated to the greatest extent possible. With more and more research coming out, the evidence is becoming clearer and clearer, the effects of repeated head trauma, even those received during ones youth, can accumulate and cause serious and devastating conditions and these conditions can stem from injuries once considered minor known as sub sorry subconcussive hits. Boston University Researchers led by dr. Ann mckee, dr. Bob stern and Chris Nowinski said they have a marketedly increase of mood disorders like depression and this research has found language between head impacts and c. T. E. , a degenerative brain disease. These researchers examined the brains of 111 deceased National Football League Players whose families chose to donate their brains and 110 of the deceased players suffered from c. T. E. During their lifetimes. Im pleased were joined by all three of these researchers who are conducting critically important research. Their research must be considered by athletic associations and others, including congress, as we look for Real Solutions to this devastating disease and i thank them for their invaluable contribution to this area and look forward to hearing more today. Beyond this research, there are a number of Unanswered Questions about what risk factors make individuals more susceptible to these debilitating conditions. We need to understand what happens to the brain when its hit and how this triggers neurological effects and whether its possible to diagnosis c. T. E. During life and what treatment should be offered for those struggling with cognitive issues to the cumulative brain trauma. And while theres research that needs to be done, that should not be an excuse for inaction. What is not in dispute is the connection between head trauma and football and degenerative diseases like c. T. E. A number of our panelists today played professional football or have Family Members who did. Id like to welcome former nfl player, harry carson, mike adamle. Were joined by mr. Adamles wife, kim adamle, and dr. Eleanor perfetto who is the widow of ralph wenzel. They have witnessed firsthand exposure to the longterm impact. They can speak to the challenges they live with and witnessed as a result of this trauma and they can also speak to the concerns of the future and whether they believe they will be adequately supported by the nfl or other organizations as they face future challenges. I would also like to mention that we invited the nfl to attend but they declined. The science has raised enough red flags about repetitive head trauma that its incumbent to those who organize Contact Sports to make the game as safe as possible. That commitment must come from all levels of play including the highest level of football. Since the nfl recognized the link between repetitive hits and they need to commit to brain trauma they need to commit to supporting independent , research, meaningfully reducing the risks and supporting players suffering from the effects of longterm brain injury. So this forum is critically important. Its unfortunate, however, this discussion is not being conducted in a formal congressional hearing. Despite our repeated requests for a series of hearings on this subject last year, the republican majority agreed to one hearing during last congress on concussions in youth sports and thats simply not enough. But im hopeful todays forum will help us build momentum for further action and discussion. I thank you, again, to all our witnesses for your contributions and for being here for this important discussion on traumatic brain injuries in athletics. I hope we can all continue to Work Together to find the best ways to address the significant Public Health issue. Im not going to mention my colleagues by name because they are each going to be part of this forum and discussion. But i do want to say looking at the people that are up here, my colleagues that are up here really many of them have played a major role in dealing with shoes so i appreciate the fact , they are here today. Let me call on Ranking Member i call him chairman of the Judiciary Committee, congressman conyers, for an opening statement. Thank you for letting us use your room as well. Mr. Conyers you get the bill. [laughter] mr. Conyers top of the morning, everybody. What a pleasure it is to be here with our energy and commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone and all my colleagues in sponsoring this event. Its an important event, and its taken a little while to get there and we got a long way to go. Todays forum brings together some of the nations leading experts from the medical research and athletic communities to review the causes, effects and treatments of concussions and other head trauma. In particular, the forum examines what is known about brain injuries, what gaps exist in scientific literature and what is being done to address those gaps. The following year, the Judiciary Committee it will also feature firsthand accounts from individuals who suffered from subconcussive trauma or have witnessed its longterm effects on their loved ones. And thats why we have eight people this is a very unusual forum and im glad of it. When i was chairman of the Judiciary Committee, we held a hearing in 2009 on football head injuries which was prompted by the mounting Scientific Evidence connecting head injuries in football and cognitive problems later on in life. During that hearing, the National Football league refused to acknowledge a connection between head injuries on the football field and the Subsequent Development of brain diseases. The following year, the Judiciary Committee held a hearing in detroit, michigan, followed by forums in houston and new york city as part of our ongoing commitment to calling attention to this problem and examining ways to prevent head injuries in youth, high school and in College Football as well. And this brings us to todays forum where our medical panelists will discuss their recently published studies examining the brains of 111 deceased National Football League Players which found that an astounding 110 of them had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, also known as c. T. E. For short. Although Scientific Evidence clearly links head injuries in football to cognitive problems later in life, between 1. 6 million and 3. 8 million sports and related sports and recreational related concussions occur each year, according to the center for Disease Control. The extent of injury is particularly problematic for our youth as most brains are not fully developed until 25 years of age. As a result, a concussion is more dangerous for youth than it is for an adult. So i hope the panelists today will provide guidance on how we can better protect all athletes, especially our Young Athletes. And i would be remiss if i did not briefly comment concerning the president of the United States recent series of statements concerning our nations professional Football Players. There was a rally in alabama on september 22, he mocked the National Football leagues efforts to prevent brain injuries claiming two guys, just really beautiful tackle, boom. 15 yards. The referee goes on television, his wife so proud of him. Theyre ruining the game. Theyre ruining the game. End of quotation. The president of the United States then went on to use the power of his and Vice President s bully pulpit and twitter feeds to rail against the right of private citizens to express their views and right to protest as guaranteed by, of course, the first amendments free speech protection. Ironically, President Trump has not uttered a single word about the actual underlying issue. The glaring disparities in how africanamericans are dealt with under our criminal Justice System and their treatment by Law Enforcement officers which have often had deadly consequences. These are problems, by the way, which have gotten worse, not better, in my view under the Trump Administration and Sessions Department of justice. Now, todays forum allows to return to the actual facts and evidence and consider how we can best protect Football Players at all levels, an incredibly violent sport. I thank all the panelists and the members for being here today, and i turn it back to mr. Pallone, my colleague and friend. Mr. Pallone thank you, chairman. Thank you so much for your comments and, again, for having letting us have a place to have this forum today. I wanted to introduce the panelists, but normally members of congress get to make Opening Statements when they come to these forums and we are not doing that today because they all agreed not to in order for us to get to the panelist. Let me at least introduce everybody up here, if i could. First on my left is jan schakowsky, shes a member of the energy and Commerce Committee. Shes from chicago. Shes probably done more on this issue than any other member. I have to be honest. Shes just been very concerned about this whole issue of concussion in sports and been out front on it from the beginning. To her left is mr. Mcnerney from california, also a member of the energy and Commerce Committee. And then to my right is steve cohen who is from memphis, outspoken on so many issues. I call you the investigative congressman. And then we have david cicilline. Both are members of the energy and Commerce Committee and david is the cochair of our message or we call it democratic policy group. And he plays a major role in getting our many and developing our policy. So on our panel, we have today dr. Ann mckey, i guess im going from my left. Director of the c. T. E. Center at Boston University. We have dr. Robert stern whos director of Clinical Research for the Boston University c. T. E. Center. Then we have dr. Chris nowinski who is cofounder of the Concussion Legacy Foundation and cofounder of the Boston University c. T. E. Center. Then we have harry carson who is a member of the pro football hall of fame and linebacker for the super bowl xxi new york giants who served as team captain of the giants for 10 seasons. You probably figure hes my favorite. Deandre levy who is starting linebacker for the Detroit Lions from 2009 to 2015. And then we have mike adamle who is a record setting fullback for northwestern and played for the chiefs, the jets and the bears before entering into a 40plus career in broadcasting during which he worked for all of the major networks. And then we have his wife, kim adamle, who has supported mike throughout his struggles with dementia and shes an Educational Consultant and School Psychology teacher with three decades of experience conducting cognitive assessments. And then last is dr. Eleanor perfetto who is senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives for the National Health council. And she was the caregiver for her spouse, ralph wenzel, prior to his death due to c. T. E. So, thank you all. You are all such experts and personal knowledge of what were dealing with today. I was going to start i would like to have two people start, and that is dr. Ann mckee first. If you would make a statement. Dr. Mckee yes, thank you, Ranking Member pallone, Ranking Member conyers and distinguished members of the committees. This is a great honor and a great pleasure to be here and i am going to try to summarize the the work that weve done on c. T. E. As well as discuss two of our recent papers and then dr. Stern will discuss his research and his recent paper. So the first question is, what is c. T. E. . C. T. E. , or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease found in athletes and military veterans with a history of repetitive head trauma, including concussions and asymptomatic subconcussive hits to the head. C. T. E. Is increasingly recognized as a potential risk for athletes participating in Contact Sports such as american football, but also soccer, boxing and ice hockey. Military veterans who are exposed to explosive blasts are also at risk for c. T. E. C. T. E. Is characterized by the buildup of an abnormal protein called tao in nerve cells and nerve cells processes in a unique pattern in the brain. C. T. E. Gradually interferes with normal brain functioning and may lead to changes in behavior such as impulsivity and violence, changes in mood such as depression and hopelessness and cognitive changes such as memory loss and cognitive decline. At the time, c. T. E. Can only be diagnosed after death by examination of the brain and there are no known treatments for the disorder. Also unknown at this time is the exact prevalence of c. T. E. In amateur and professional and contact sport athletes as well as military veterans. Given that millions of contact sport athletes and military Service Members are exposed to repetitive head trauma every year, c. T. E. Has become a major Public Health concern. Over the last nine years, there have been many advances in our understanding of c. T. E. My colleagues at v. A. Boston Health Care System, Boston University and the Concussion Legacy Foundation developed the largest brain bank in the world in 2008 to study the longterm effects of exposure to repetitive head trauma and c. T. E. The v. A. , bluff brain bank has brains and spinal chords of 450 athletes, military veterans who experienced head trauma. We diagnosed c. T. E. In over 280 individuals and published the clinical and pathological features of over 70 of the confirmed cases reported reported worldwide since c. T. E. Was first identified in 1928 by Harrison Martland and named chronic traumatic encephalopathy by Mcdonald Critchley in 1949. We reported the first case of c. T. E. In High School Football, College Football, soccer, boxing, baseball, hockey, mixed martial arts. The youngest and the first series of c. T. E. In military veterans of the iraq and afghanistan conflicts. We published original articles on the relationship between c. T. E. And the development of motor neuron disease, or a. L. S. We analyzed the roles of other proteins in c. T. E. , including beta alkaloid. We begun to investigate how the protein spreads from one nerve cell to another to result in widespread disease. In 2013 we defined the pathological features for the of c. T. E. And developed a diagnosis of c. T. E. And developed a staging scheme to assess pathological severity. We now know there is a unique pathological hallmark of c. T. E. There is a hallmark tao lesion that does not exist in a normal brain or any other nerve degenerative disease such as alzheimers disease. This hallmark c. T. E. Lesion allows for the precise pathological diagnosis of c. T. E. This unique lesion of c. T. E. Is present in small areas of the brain in the beginning of the disease and it becomes widespread and distributed throughout the brain in advanced disease. Two consensus panels of expert pathologists sponsored by the National Institute of neurological disease and stroke and National Institute of bio medical and bioimaging defined th