CTE Matters To Me

CTE Matters to Me
Welcome. Our mission is to:
raise awareness of CTE - chronic traumatic encephalopathy - especially in New Zealand
raise awareness of the devastating and tragic consequences of misdiagnosing brain injury as a 'mental health' or 'psychiatric' issue
raise awareness of the need for medical education & training which includes the identification of brain injury and possible CTE
collate links to information about treatment for people who have possible/probable CTE
provide mutual support, understanding and networking among people and families of those who have probable CTE
present our hypothesis of 'The Pono and Tika Pattern' as distinct symptoms and markers of CTE, and invite feedback
develop a standard of care for people who have probable CTE
What is CTE?
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy is a progressive neurodegenerative disease.
Caused by repetitive head impacts over time (not single incidents).
Cannot be definitively diagnosed while living, but symptoms can be recognized.
Symptoms typically appear 8-10 years after head impact exposure.
CTE Risk Factors:
Contact sports (rugby, boxing, football, hockey)
Military service with blast exposure
History of domestic violence
Multiple concussions or subconcussive impacts
Any pattern of repetitive head trauma
CTE Treatment:
CTE needs treatment for brain injury, not for a 'mental health condition' or a 'psychiatric condition'.
Please see the section 'CTE Treatment' for information about treatment.
CTE Education:
Consider a curriculum of medical education and training which doesn't include:
a strict adherence to the first principles of medicine — "First, do no harm" (primum non nocere), reflected in the Medical Council of New Zealand's foundational standard: "Make the care of patients your first concern" (Good Medical Practice, November 2021)
foundational knowledge of brain injury
recognising brain injury
discerning brain injury from 'mental health conditions' and 'psychiatric conditions'
What would be the possible consequences?
We Remember
The late Shane Christie, New Zealand Rugby Player and truthseeker, with suspected CTE
The late Billy Guyton, New Zealand Rugby player with confirmed CTE
Introduction
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)
What is CTE?
Why I stopped watching football
The devastating consequences of misdiagnosis
Put yourself in the shoes of someone who has had repeated head knocks through sport and knows their difficulties are due to those injuries. They seek help, but doctors dismiss their head trauma history and instead diagnose them with a "mental health" condition like 'bipolar disorder'.
This happens far too often. People with probable CTE face a medical system that doesn't understand brain injury symptoms and defaults to psychiatric diagnoses instead.
"The worst thing about probable CTE to me is not the disease, it's not being believed." - Ange Murtha
If this sounds like your experience, you're not alone. There are medical differences between CTE and psychiatric conditions, and you deserve proper evaluation, and [roper treatment.
Treatment for CTE
New!
Mental Health Changes from Brain Injury & the Use of Photobiomodulation to Improve Quality of Life

He Couldn’t Think Clearly for Years — Until This Red Light Fixed His Brain (CTE)
New!
A New Avenue for Lithium: Intervention in Traumatic Brain Injury
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy: Update on Current Clinical Diagnosis and Management
Recent Preclinical Insights Into the Treatment of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy
A Cure for CTE?
Lithium treatment for chronic traumatic encephalopathy: A proposal
Recent Preclinical Insights Into the Treatment of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy
Lithium: A Novel Therapeutic Drug for Traumatic Brain Injury
A New Avenue for Lithium: Intervention in Traumatic Brain Injury
VA research on Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Best Nootropics for Traumatic Brain Injury
A blog about lithium

Personal Stories from The Concussion Foundation
The Pono and Tika pattern
In our conversations about brain injury and CTE, Ange and I have noticed a common pattern, which is that people with brain injuries often experience two things at once:
1. enhanced moral clarity- i.e. seeing the truth and wondering why others can't see it too, which leads to intense frustration, and
2. impaired and inhibited communication, which also leads to intense frustration.
It seems to us that this combination of experiences leads to anger and grief (which is not the same as 'depression'). These issues are neurological, not psychological or 'psychiatric'.
Does this match your experience? If so, we'd love to hear from you.
Contact
Please feel free to send us an email or phone us. Thankyou
0210 259 6757
0210 259 6757
ctematterstome@gmail.com
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CTE Matters To Me

CTE Matters To Me

CTE Matters to Me

What is CTE?

CTE Risk Factors:

We Remember

Introduction

Treatment for CTE

The Pono and Tika pattern

Contact

Please feel free to send us an email or phone us. Thankyou