Australian researchers have discovered the first case of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in a female professional athlete.
The brain of former Australian rules football player Heather Anderson was donated to science after the 28-year-old died by suicide in 2022. She was found to meet the criteria for “low-stage CTE.”
“As the representation of women in professional contact sports is growing, it seems likely that more CTE cases will be identified in female athletes,” wrote the authors of the paper, which was published June 30 in the journal Acta Neuropathologica.
“Given females’ greater susceptibility to concussion, there is an urgent need to recognize the risks, and to
