Yesterday’s harrowing Four Corners episode exposed the devastating impacts of degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and the link with contact sports, primarily Australian rules football.

The report, and similar recent media coverage, suggests the crisis of long-term brain damage in Australian rules footballers may be deepening.

These reports tell of an increasing number of diagnosed cases of CTE in brains donated to the Australian Sports Brain Bank. CTE can only be diagnosed after death.

They also reveal a concerning proportion of donated brains come from cases of suicide, some of whom are disturbingly young.

These young victims raise a number of questions about whether Australia’s contact sports, including the Australian Football League (AFL), are taking the most effective approach to reduce the risk of CTE.

The dangers of early exposure

A key moment in the Four Corners program is the story of Nick Lowden, a promising Victorian footballer who took his own life at 23.

He was posthumously diagnosed with Stage II CTE. There are four stages of CTE. Stage II is considered significant to brain health.

His mother said her family had never heard of CTE and were not aware of the potential long-term neurological effects of repetitive head impacts.

Unlike other brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s, which mostly occur in older people, CTE has been found in athletes as young as 20 in Australia (with Lowden being the second youngest at 23).

In the United States and United Kingdom,........

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