Major development in concussion research could help save the lives of NHL players.

There has been a major breakthrough in the research surrounding chronic traumatic encephalopathy, better known as CTE, and it could help save the lives of both current and former National Hockey League players.

For the longest time doctors have only been able to to diagnosis CTE in the brain after the person afflicted with the disease has passed on, but the discovery of a new biomarker may finally allow doctors to detect it in living patients. 

“This is a step forward from our knowledge gained in understanding CTE from brain donations,” says study senior author Ann McKee, as per BU Today. “It’s a hopeful step. The whole point is to understand as much as we can from the individuals who’ve fallen, so we can apply it to our future veterans and athletes.”

[pub]

The hope here is that if doctor's can identify the disease while patients are still alive, they will then be able to work on better ways to prevent the onset of the disease as well as work on potential treatments for CTE.

This of course could impact the lives of both current and former players in the National Hockey League, and hopefully even save their lives.