Scientists Track Down Disease Caused by Head Trauma

Previously they had been only be able to detect it after sufferer had died

It's been called the "holy grail" of brain research and now, it may have been found. Scientists in the U.S. say they have developed a way to detect the concussion-related brain disease called CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, in living athletes.

Until now, the disease, which brings on dementia, depression and personality changes, could only be confirmed through an autopsy.

Now, for the first time, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles have figured out how to use a brain-imaging tool to identify the abnormal build-up of tau proteins—the key marker of CTE—in people showing early signs of the disease.