According to a new study, a brain-scanning technique could help recognize people with a health condition associated with concussions in football and other sports. Deposits of abnormal protein in a pattern similar to that found at autopsy in the disease have been revealed in scans of 14 retired football players at risk for the condition, called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

CTE leads to progressive brain degeneration in athletes and others, who have had suffered repeated concussions and other hits to the head. Memory loss, aggression, confusion, depression and progressive dementia are the symptoms of the condition.

Till now, there is no cure of the condition. Study authors said that the brain-scanning approach leads to the chance of detecting the disease in short time, when the chances for success of experimental treatments would be higher.

According to a study author, Dr. Julian Bailes, co-director of the NorthShore Neurological Institute in Evanston, Illinois, it may also help know more about the disease and help athletes with retirement-related decisions. The results were presented in a paper released on Monday by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Joseph Maroon of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, who was not involved in the study, said that the results are ‘a major step forward in detecting CTE prior to death’. Manroon said that the results help prepare for larger studies to look into the technique's effectiveness.

The study was conducted on 14 retired professional football players, in which one was suffering with dementia and one was without obvious symptoms. And 12 were suffering from a mental functioning deficit called mild cognitive impairment.