Brett Favre shares he has Parkinsons

There is a lot of data linking concussions with an increased likelihood of developing Parkinson's.

https://www.parkinson.org/blog...concussions-dementia

God knows how many concussions Favre actually had during his career, but I would guess it's likely in the double digits. Favre himself has said it might have been in the triple digits if you count what are considered "minor" concussions.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/...ring-his-nfl-career/

Favre has been a POS in many aspects of his off-the-field life, but you wouldn't wish this on anyone. It's unsettling to reconcile the fact that many of these players we all cheered for during their careers will end up suffering from this, and yet, I doubt that any of us can really quit watching football.

Good luck to Brett,  my SIL has it and trust me, this is not good.

My father had it as well and it really led to his passing and combined with dementia it was very painful to see him in such bad shape the last couple years of his life. I also have a brother in law who has been diagnosed with Parkinson's in his late 60's.

It's not just a horrible diagnosis, but a devastating one at just 54.

While there isn't a ton of data showing the correlation between Parkinson's and the physical toll of playing in the NFL, there seems to be enough to at the very least show an inordinate amount of former players who get it vs the rest of the population.

Favre played in an era where the league looked the other way when it came to concussions and TBI (traumatic brain injuries). Everyone lauded Brett for his toughness and durability, but in today's league, he'd be a prime example of a player who would have needed protection from himself above all else.

While not curable, if I understand correctly, if it's caught early enough there are meds that can slow down the progression.

Sad news: #NFL HOFer Brett Favre announced he has Parkinson's disease at 54. He's also said he believes he has #CTE.
Among those w/CTE who had signs of Parkinsonism, only 24% had 'classic' Parkinson's. For 76%, it appears their symptoms are caused by CTE
pic.twitter.com/w5f8YVYDPA

— Chris Nowinski, Ph.D. (@ChrisNowinski1) September 24, 2024

@DurangoDoug posted:

While not curable, if I understand correctly, if it's caught early enough there are meds that can slow down the progression.

Very sad for anyone who has this or any of the similar types of diseases.  It is also very hard on the family (as I know from personal experience).

Not a Dr, but Parkinson's can develop at very different pace depending on the individual.  From my understanding, the drugs can help with the motor skills\balance\shaking etc types of symptons, but not as much with the mental side of things.  It is also my understanding that these meds are effective for a limited time and decrease efficacy as time goes on.

Football is a violent sport, but we as Americans love it.  I am hopeful that it can become safer as we go along with out decreasing the excitement and joy of it.   

Cynic alert. I don’t wish Parkinson’s on anyone and ache for the families that need to deal with a loved one and this disease. But, but, but is there any possibility of his sharing about Parkinson’s and CTE to cultivate sympathy for the POS actions that he was involved with?  

@PA green & gold posted:

Cynic alert. I don’t wish Parkinson’s on anyone and ache for the families that need to deal with a loved one and this disease. But, but, but is there any possibility of his sharing about Parkinson’s and CTE to cultivate sympathy for the POS actions that he was involved with?  

Next it will be the reason for all those INTs.

Average life expectancy of NFL players - 55 years of age.  

Probability that Favre has CTE and linkage to Parkinson’s?  Hmm.

Given his personal character and behavior, chance that karma is playing a factor here?  100%

I mean, he made the reveal at a hearing about his POS actions.  Obviously sucks for him, but an odd place to make such an announcement.  So it is natural for some to be skeptical.

Hate to see anyone get this diagnosis. I remember a game back in the 90s where Favre had his "bell rung" on a play and after the play, the coaches took his helmet from him on the sidelines. Somehow he found it, went back in, and threw a touchdown. Announcers were laughing about it, saying "he's not going to remember that one tomorrow". How times have changed...

But agree with others - very odd forum to announce this. Like when people were trying to link Aaron Hernandez's actions with his CTE, I don't get how Medicare fraud (or whatever he did) can be linked to a brain injury.

Horrible, horrible disease, and it sucks possibly because he played football,  but he’s still a piece of shit in my mind.  Not sorry.

@MichiganPacker2 posted:

There is a lot of data linking concussions with an increased likelihood of developing Parkinson's.

I was going to post this....Best to let the scientist handle it 🫡

@Boris posted:

I was going to post this....Best to let the scientist handle it 🫡

I work at an institution that has 8 labs studying Parkinson's Disease. I interact with a lot of patients that have it because of that. You can slow progression with things like Deep Brain Stimulation, but you can't cure it.

Michael J. Fox has probably done more for awareness of the disease and in raising money for research than anybody. A lot of the recent advances can be traced to his advocacy.

@CUPackFan posted:

Hate to see anyone get this diagnosis. I remember a game back in the 90s where Favre had his "bell rung" on a play and after the play, the coaches took his helmet from him on the sidelines. Somehow he found it, went back in, and threw a touchdown. Announcers were laughing about it, saying "he's not going to remember that one tomorrow". How times have changed...

But agree with others - very odd forum to announce this. Like when people were trying to link Aaron Hernandez's actions with his CTE, I don't get how Medicare fraud (or whatever he did) can be linked to a brain injury.

Troy Aikman's concussion experiences are even more cringeworthy in retrospect. He didn't remember playing in an NFC Championship game where he played the entire game because of a hit he took during the game. The odds of Aikman not having some form of neurodegerative disease (if he lives long enough) are close to zero. Steve Young is the same way.

https://www.dallascowboys.com/...ame-a-distant-memory

That's right, no two weeks between games that year. Win on Sunday at Texas Stadium, depart on Monday for Atlanta.

Also made Aikman think back all those years on his weekly 96.7 "The Ticket" segment with Dunham & Miller this past Tuesday to when San Francisco defensive end Dennis Brown's knee collided with his helmet, knocking him into yesterday with yet another in a series of concussions he experienced during his 12-year NFL career.

"That was the worst one I had, in that game, the third quarter. I don't have any recollection of having played in that game," Aikman confessed.

@PA green & gold posted:

Cynic alert. I don’t wish Parkinson’s on anyone and ache for the families that need to deal with a loved one and this disease. But, but, but is there any possibility of his sharing about Parkinson’s and CTE to cultivate sympathy for the POS actions that he was involved with?  

I would guess he was almost certainly he has Parkinson's. There are specific things that neurologists can see in a patient with a dopaminergic neuron deficit that you can't fake. I don't have the link immediately available, but I heard a talk about how a PD researcher went back and looked at Michael J. Fox's movies and could tell when he was first developing PD based on some of his subtle movements. There are some things about favoring one side of your body or the way you carry your arm that are pretty good indicators of high risk. I would guess Favre probably has some small tremors right now.

I'm sure Favre made the announcement now to deflect the headlines from his hearing, but if you were going to make something up as a diagnosis, it wouldn't be Parkinsons. The symptoms are too obvious to even semi-trained observers. He could have said he had migraine headaches or the symptoms of CTE, found a doctor to agree with him, and there would have been no way to really check whether he actually had those symptoms.

He likely has some form of CTE-associated PD or something on the Parkinsons Disease-related spectrum of diseases like Lewy-Body Dementia or Multiple Symptoms Atrophy (which are all thought to be a continuum of diseases associated with the loss of dopaminergic neurons).

For good or bad hopefully they get him out to some alumni games while he's still moving around well.

Interesting spot to reveal this.  

The cynic in me would say he is taking control of the news cycle.

Smart move to garner sympathy and change some of the narrative.  

Jerry Kramer has had multiple concussions too.  He even wrote in Instant Replay that in one game after he got hit Forest Gregg had to tell him what to do on every play. But with all his other medical issues he's had he keeps plugging along. 

@ammo posted:

Jerry Kramer has had multiple concussions too. 

Hardest head in human history.

Tough all around.

Don't doubt at all the diagnosis and wish him the best as far as his health is concerned.

Also pretty clear why he revealed it at the time he did.

@packerboi posted:

It's not just a horrible diagnosis, but a devastating one at just 54.

While there isn't a ton of data showing the correlation between Parkinson's and the physical toll of playing in the NFL, there seems to be enough to at the very least show an inordinate amount of former players who get it vs the rest of the population.

Favre played in an era where the league looked the other way when it came to concussions and TBI (traumatic brain injuries). Everyone lauded Brett for his toughness and durability, but in today's league, he'd be a prime example of a player who would have needed protection from himself above all else.

Everyone, but the cameras, looked the other way when Favre was puking up blood in the end zone, after a hit. He did need protection from himself.

I saw a YouTube video the other day about the “jacked up” clips ESPN used to play during the MNF broadcasts. Didn’t seem like a big deal back when they used to show the clips. Seeing those old segments now is eye opening. It was nothing but guys getting knocked out and the commentators cheering it on.

Yep, that was super popular and I'm sure featured a lot of undiagnosed concussions.

And at the end of a season there were VHS's of the NFL Greatest Hits.

@bdplant posted:

I saw a YouTube video the other day about the “jacked up” clips ESPN used to play during the MNF broadcasts. Didn’t seem like a big deal back when they used to show the clips. Seeing those old segments now is eye opening. It was nothing but guys getting knocked out and the commentators cheering it on.

I can still hear the echo in my head, "He got JACKED UP!!!" I miss those.

@bdplant posted:

I saw a YouTube video the other day about the “jacked up” clips ESPN used to play during the MNF broadcasts. Didn’t seem like a big deal back when they used to show the clips. Seeing those old segments now is eye opening. It was nothing but guys getting knocked out and the commentators cheering it on.

I remember those well and have you recently seen any intros to the NFL today from back in the 70s and 80s?  Holy crap those hits back then would get you kicked out of the NFL today and rightfully so. 

My hope for anyone who is diagnosed with Parkinsons they can continue to make progress in treating it and hopefully one day curing it.  I have been very fortunate in my life to not having anyone in my family being diagnosed with it but I do have friends who have it in their family and its so damn sad.