In order to fund continued research of long-term effects of brain trauma in athletes, the NFL is donating $1 million to the Boston University School of Medicine.
The funds will be given to the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, which was created in 2008 by MED and the Sports Legacy Institute.
CSTE’s goal is to conduct research of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, according to its website.
The NFL first announced its plan to partner with BU in January when researchers at the center discovered a connection between head trauma and brain damage in athletes in many different sports, specifically football, The Daily Free Press reported on Jan. 14.
The CSTE had been critical of the NFL’s stance on concussions, which prompted the research.
The center focuses on helping detect and prevent injures such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, also known as dementia pugilistica or “punch-drunk syndrome.” Common symptoms for the injury are memory impairment, emotional instability, erratic behavior and depression, according to sportsinjuries.com.
In the future, CSTE hopes to advance future pathological understanding of the consequences of sports-related brain trauma, according to BU a press release.
CSTE officials said they are happy about the donation and hope it will further research.
“We are extremely grateful to Commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFL owners for their support of this important research,” said Dr. Robert Cantu, the co-director of CSTE and a clinical professor of neurosurgery at MED, in a BU press release. “These unrestricted funds allow us to accelerate our research with independence and scientific integrity.”
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