For the first time, CTE has been confirmed as a unique disease that can be definitively diagnosed, an expert panel says.

Chronic traumatic encephalogpathy, or CTE, is associated with the playing of sports that result in repeated blows to the head, like boxing and football.  Over time, CTE results in symptoms like memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, impulse control problems, aggression, depression, and, eventually, progressive dementia.

CTE also results in a buildup of tau, an abnormal protein, which has made distinguishing it from Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological conditions more challenging.

Researchers from Boston University Medical Center conducted a study in which seven neuropathologists independently reviewed slides from 25 cases of different diseases associated with tau deposits in the brain. They were given no information relating to the age, sex, clinical symptoms and athletic exposure of the individuals from whom the tissue samples were taken.

The researchers found they were able to distinguish CTE from Alzheimer’s disease, aging, and other conditions that cause tau to build up.

The tau buildup created a unique pathological unique pathological signature that could only be caused by repeated blows to the brain, the experts said.