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Tuesday 15 November 2016
Nigerian Physician Who Discovered CTE Gets American Medical Association (AMA) Highest Honor
According to a statement of AMA’s website, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) was first diagnosed in an NFL player in 2002, and it has since been confirmed by postmortem examination in dozens of American athletes. . . The physician who made the initial discovery, forensic neuropathologist Bennet I. Omalu, MD, MBA, MPH, overcame massive efforts to […]
According to a statement of AMA’s website, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) was first diagnosed in an NFL player in 2002, and it has since been confirmed by postmortem examination in dozens of American athletes.
The physician who made the initial discovery, forensic neuropathologist Bennet I. Omalu, MD, MBA, MPH, overcame massive efforts to discredit him and his research, and today CTE is widely recognized as a health risk in millions of patients with histories of repetitive brain trauma, including military veterans.
The AMA on Saturday honored Dr. Omalu with its Distinguished Service Award. Dr. Omalu initially thought the league would be pleased to learn of his findings, but when they were presented at an NFL meeting on concussions in 2007, they were dismissed, and the league—through lawyers, physicians and other experts—went on to mount a coordinated effort to discredit Dr. Omalu and his research.
At the time, Dr. Omalu was not a U.S. citizen, and his immigration status was dependent on his continued employment. He stuck to his findings in the face of intense pressure, and in 2009—7 years after his discovery—the NFL publicly acknowledged the link between concussions sustained in football and CTE.
“Because of the service Dr. Omalu has rendered to every player and every family member in the football and other sporting communities, I am delighted to present him, on behalf of the AMA, with the Distinguished Service Award—our highest honor,” AMA President Andrew W. Gurman, MD, said in a statement.
“His meritorious se
rvice is all the more remarkable given that he was relatively junior at the time of his discovery, having only completed his pathology residency a few years prior to describing CTE.”
Dr. Gurman said he strongly believes “that Dr. Omali strongly exemplifies the best of American medicine.” Dr. Omalu attended medical school at the University of Nigeria at 16. The story of Dr. Omalu inspired the 2015 film “Concussion,” in which he was portrayed by Will Smith.
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