Concussion – why we should remain skeptical
This past weekend I saw Concussion. The movie, while well done, left me conflicted as a scientist. As I often do after seeing movies based on true stories, I searched the internet for a good commentary. I found this article – Concussion Lies.
I suspect this article has significant biases, however, we should all remain skeptical because the science described in the movie involves correlation rather than causation. Dr. Omalu discovered a pathological finding associated with football players. He studied football players who had committed suicide or died in other violent ways. He then made a cognitive leap and blamed their recent personality changes and deteriorations on the pathological findings.
His deductions, while logical, do not meet a rigorous requirement for an evidence based pronouncement. The author of the above article gives an alternate view of the epidemiological data. In fact, former NFL players have a lower suicide rate than age-matched comparators. They live longer than average.
The movie presents a moving heart tugging story that argues for blanket acceptance of CTE as a major fact. CTE likely exists, but in what ways does it impact its victims.
Movies do a wonderful job of convincing us of theories. But after reading the Slate article, I understand my initial skepticism. Today I remain skeptical and would like to know more about the spectrum of CTE.
Scientific thinking requires us to question every proclamation that physicians and...
Source: DB's Medical Rants - Category: Internal Medicine Authors: rcentor Tags: Medical Rants Source Type: blogs
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