House Resolution 102 - Introduced HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 102 BY OURTH A Resolution recognizing Chronic Traumatic 1 Encephalopathy Awareness Day. 2 WHEREAS, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is 3 a progressive, degenerative brain disease that appears 4 in persons with a history of repetitive brain trauma 5 sustained over a period of years; and 6 WHEREAS, CTE was first described in 1928 by Dr. 7 Harrison Martland in a study published in the Journal 8 of the American Medical Association linking brain 9 injury and boxing; and 10 WHEREAS, it was not until 2002 that Dr. Bennet Omalu 11 discovered the first pathological evidence of CTE in 12 a professional football player and, together with his 13 colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh, published 14 the details of his groundbreaking findings in 2005; and 15 WHEREAS, CTE is caused by a buildup of an abnormal 16 protein called tau in the brain leading to brain cell 17 death; and 18 WHEREAS, the risk of developing CTE is greatest with 19 athletes, military veterans, and domestic violence 20 survivors, who frequently endure repeated subconcussive 21 blows to the head from playing contact sports or suffer 22 traumatic injury from military training or blasting or 23 hits sustained by partners or caretakers; and it also 24 appears in those with epilepsy; and 25 WHEREAS, symptoms associated with CTE, such as 26 sleep disturbances, memory loss, tremors, addictions, 27 progressive dementia, depression, suicidal thoughts, 28 -1- LSB 5847HH (2) 87 je/rj 1/ 3

H.R. 102 impaired judgment, and paranoia, most often present 1 years or decades after the brain trauma or hits cease, 2 but have been found in a patient as young as 17 years 3 old; and 4 WHEREAS, currently, CTE can only be definitively 5 diagnosed after death through postmortem 6 neuropathological analysis; and 7 WHEREAS, advocacy organizations, health care 8 providers, and institutional researchers are dedicated 9 to studying the cause and symptoms of CTE in order to 10 enable parents and families to make informed decisions 11 regarding the best interests of their children in 12 youth sports and to develop an earlier diagnostic tool 13 so patients may address these symptoms as early as 14 possible; and 15 WHEREAS, one such advocacy organization is CTE Hope, 16 founded as a statewide advocacy and education support 17 group by family and friends of Zac Easter of Indianola, 18 Iowa, who suffered from CTE after multiple concussions 19 and subconcussive hits playing youth and high school 20 football from age 6 to 18, served our country in the 21 Iowa Army National Guard, and was a victim of a car 22 accident; and 23 WHEREAS, the mission of CTE Hope is to put a face on 24 this mind-robbing disease, and to educate the public 25 that it does not only impact professional athletes, but 26 children and nonathletes as well; and 27 WHEREAS, CTE Hope also endeavors to further research 28 on this devastating brain disease, with CTE Hope’s 29 initial research in Iowa confirming that saliva testing 30 -2- LSB 5847HH (2) 87 je/rj 2/ 3

H.R. 102 provides real-time indicators of inflammatory proteins 1 in the brain that cause CTE; and 2 WHEREAS, CTE Hope founded CTE Awareness Day and 3 now along with other organizations will celebrate CTE 4 Awareness Day across the United States on January 30, 5 2018, in order to reflect on those lost to CTE, to help 6 those suffering with the disease, and most importantly 7 to stop the disease; NOW THEREFORE, 8 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, That 9 the House of Representatives recognizes January 30, 10 2018, as CTE Awareness Day in Iowa. 11 -3- LSB 5847HH (2) 87 je/rj 3/ 3