Let’s Tackle CTE Together

DIAGNOSE CTE-II (DxCTE-II) is a multi-site research project dedicated to advancing scientific breakthroughs in diagnosing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) during life. This study aims to develop reliable diagnostic methods while deepening our understanding of why some individuals develop CTE and others do not.

Who is Eligible?

DIAGNOSE CTE-II is actively recruiting

Men age 50 or older who:

Played 4 or more seasons of professional tackle football, with a minimum of 12 seasons of organized tackle football overall

OR

Played 3 or more seasons of college tackle football with a minimum of 6 seasons of organized tackle football and did not play professionally

OR

Have not played contact/collision sports, have no other sources of repetitive head impacts, and have no symptoms

What’s Involved?

Participation includes: 

A two-day, in-person visit at one of the five study sites for:

  • A thorough medical history and neurological exam

  • A Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan of your brain

  • Collection of blood samples

  • One Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan to detect if there are elevations of specific proteins in your brain

  • Completion of questionnaires on your mood and behavior and social determinants of health

  • A set of standardized tests of your memory and other cognitive skills

Travel expenses will be paid for by the study, and in addition you may be compensated up to $400 for visit. 

Interested in Joining?

Contact us:

Email: diagnose@bu.edu

Call: 617-358-5443

Why Participate?

Each year, millions of people are exposed to traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and repetitive head impacts (RHI) through contact sports, military service, and physical violence. This can increase a person’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, including CTE. There is an urgent need to develop a way to diagnose CTE in life.

Your participation will help:

  • Identify factors that may influence risks

  • Accelerate methods for early detection and diagnosis of CTE

  • Inform the development of treatments

  • Ensure findings accurately represent a wide range of populations

Meet the Study Team

  • Michael Alosco, PhD

    Principal Investigator

  • Emmett Marsh

    DESIGN DIRECTOR

  • Eleanor Parks

    SUSTAINABILITY DIRECTOR

  • Karl Holland

    SALES MANAGER

Study Sites

The study is being conducted in five different locations across the country, with the exact same procedures at each site. Efforts will be made to schedule participants at locations closest to their homes. The study team will cover travel expenses.

Meet the Site Teams

Your involvement is private and protected

All data gathered in the study will be handled with maximal attention to participant confidentiality and privacy. Research data generated by this study will be kept in locked files or will be encrypted and stored on secure servers by the investigators.

Your information will not have any personal identifiers when used in the study outcome.

What was DIAGNOSE CTE-I?

We thank all of our DIAGNOSE CTE-I participants and study partners whose participation has given our researchers key insights to help improve our understanding of CTE and provided us with groundbreaking research on this disease.

DIAGNOSE CTE-I Research Project resulted in several publications, which can be found here: Publications

DIAGNOSE CTE stands for Diagnostics, Imaging, and Genetics Network for the Objective Study and Evaluation of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).

The DIAGNOSE CTE-I Research Project was an 8-year multi-site funded by the National Institutes of Health that ran from 2015-2023. Participants included 240 men, ages 45-74, including: 120 former National Football League (NFL) players, 60 former college football players, and 60 healthy “controls”.

Want to learn more?Contact us.

Email: diagnose@bu.edu

Call: 617-358-5443