Nigerian-born Dr. Bennet Omalu,  currently the Chief Medical Examiner, San Joaquin County, California, and President/Medical Director of Bennet Omalu Pathology, was the first to identify, describe and name a new disorder known as, as a disease entity in American football players and wrestlers.

A forensic pathologist, and certified physician executive in medical management, Omalu, 47, who hails from Anambra state, discovered in 2002 a condition described as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, CTE, a neurodegenerative disease in the brains of football players caused by repeated brain trauma over time and causes depression, dementia, and other behavioural changes

Popularly known as the “Concussion Doctor”, Omalu made his landmark discovery following an autopsy he performed on former Pittsburgh Steelers star Mike Webster.

Bennet Omalu

Webster, aged 50, had died of a heart attack after years of depression and dementia that led to him becoming homeless and forgetting how to do basic things, such as eating.

From the examination Omalu made of Webster and other football players, including Dave Duerson and Andre Waters, he determined that repeated head trauma from the sport causes a brain condition that leads to memory loss, impaired judgement, impulse control problems, aggression, depression, and eventually progressive dementia.

Although doctors knew that boxers suffered brain problems after years of continuous head trauma, it was Omalu who first associated the condition with football players.

When Omalu cut slices from Webster’s brain and looked at them under a microscope, he was surprised to see tangled proteins and other characteristic signs of CTE.

A year later, Omalu examined the brain of Terry Long — another Steelers legend, who’d killed himself at age 45 by drinking antifreeze — and saw the same picture.

“This stuff should not be in the brain of a 45-year-old man,” Omalu later said. “This looks more like a 90-year-old brain with advanced Alzheimer’s.”

Prompted by Omalu’s discovery, doctors at Boston University’s CTE Centre examined 79 deceased NFL players’ brains and found CTE in 76 of them. Many died by suicide or had dramatic changes in personality after retirement. Still, the overall rate of CTE in all players is unknown — it could be an epidemic or a relatively rare problem.

Omalu’s discovery of CTE raised numerous concerns about the safety of American football, a development that the National Football League, NFL, challenged vigorously.  For years, though, the NFL tried its best to hide the evidence about football and brain trauma, and after Omalu published his findings, the NFL attempted to cover the facts and accused him of fraud and practicing voodoo.

He was barred from league meetings on football and the brain, along with other doctors who later worked on CTE.

Omalu’s Nigerian descent was questioned and he was accused of attacking the American way of life. But his discovery gained more attention and eventually, the NFL was compelled to introduce a concussion guideline in the game

But the Nigerian’s finding — and the subsequent discovery of CTE in dozens of deceased football players — subsequently transformed the football world, raising concerns about the safety of American football.

A movie, entitled “Concussion” that is based on this discovery, is scheduled to premiere September 8, 2015, in which Hollywood star, Will Smith, plays Dr. Bennet Omalu.  The trailer for the movie released this week, tells the true story of the Nigerian-born doctor’s discovery, and it is expected to make many Americans rethink the dangers of football and how the NFL functions

In 2009, the league finally acknowledged the problem and instituted concussion management guidelines, which include neuropsychological testing on all NFL players to help determine when a player could return to play after a head injury.

It introduced new protocols to make sure concussed players are properly diagnosed, and donated money for concussion and CTE research.

Omalu obtained his medical degree from the University of Nigeria in 1991, Masters in Public Health, MPH, degree in Epidemiology from University of Pittsburgh in 2004, and Masters in Business Administration, MBA, from Carnegie Mellon University in 2008, and holds four board certifications in Anatomic Pathology, Clinical Pathology, Forensic Pathology and Neuropathology

He has testified twice before the United States Congress and has provided hundreds of testimonies as an expert witness in federal courts and state courts across the United States. A member of many professional organizations, including but not limited to the College of American Pathologists, American Society of Clinical Pathology, American College of Physician Executives, American College of Epidemiologists, American Association of Neuropathologists, American Academy of Forensic Sciences, National Association of Medical Examiners, International Academy of Pathology and American Medical Association.

- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/09/how-nigerian-doctor-bennet-omalu-changed-american-football/#sthash.GnyeEuEH.dpuf

God bless the igbo race, rejected in Nigeria but celebrated world wide, happy reading.

Sumdays are lyk dat...

Ok..good for him....

Omalu graduated from the university of Nigeria Nsukka

Had it been he remained in Nigeria with his beautiful mind, they would have frustrated his efforts just because he's from the 'wrong' place or religion! They'd have told him: 'Nwokem, not so fast bros....go wait in line for your turn, after other zones/regions/ethnicities must have filled their own quota'!

IGBOSON1:
Had it been he remained in Nigeria with his beautiful mind, they would have frustrated his efforts just because he's from the 'wrong' place or religion! They'd have told him: 'Nwokem, not so fast bros....go wait in line for your turn, after other zones/regions/ethnicities must have filled their own quota'!

Federal quota which they apply in schools but refuse to appoint in public office appointment is really a crooks way of competition with the best, in American system used federal quota America would never have been better than Benin Republic.

kettykin:
God bless the igbo race, rejected in Nigeria but celebrated world wide, happy reading.

this shallow chest thumping right here is why you're hated as a ppl

IGBOSON1:
Had it been he remained in Nigeria with his beautiful mind, they would have frustrated his efforts just because he's from the 'wrong' place or religion! They'd have told him: 'Nwokem, not so fast bros....go wait in line for your turn, after other zones/regions/ethnicities must have filled their own quota'!

if he truly had a beautiful mind, he would thrive anywhere. BTW he did not discover shitt, he just copied and pasted from boxing to football. common sense

mikolo80:
this shallow chest thumping right here is why you're hated as a ppl

Doesn't this b iafran give his brothers a bragging right? Jealousy jeloma. Don't worry your self, Biafra will put a stop to all your miseries.

cocoduck:

Doesn't this b iafran give his brothers a bragging right? Jealousy jeloma. Don't worry your self, Biafra will put a stop to all your miseries.

how, by committing mass suicide ?
i really Hope you have a real plan for secession

see how you spoil this beautiful treat with bigotry ,why Igbo medical doctor in place of Nigeria medical doctor .

mikolo80:
this shallow chest thumping right here is why you're hated as a ppl

Only a retrogressive and ignorant people will not celebrate a man whose discovery will save lives, even the largest movie industry in the world recognised the achievement and are showcasing it to the world.

mikolo80:
this shallow chest thumping right here is why you're hated as a ppl

^^^If we're hated by asswipes such as your pathetic self then i don't see that as a problem!

The problem with your type of hate is that whatever Igbos do would always rile you up! It's called bile or bad-belle....and you have a large dose of it!

IGBOSON1:


^^^If we're hated by asswipes such as your pathetic self then i don't see that as a problem!

The problem with your type of hate is that whatever Igbos do would always rile you up! It's called bile or bad-belle....and you have a large dose of it!

see your foolishnessr.nobody hates what ibos do
you contribute to our spare parts industry
our sports
our transport especially luxurious bus
and we proud of y'al
but your crass lack of modesty and trying to fill all your slots with only Ibo ppl as if you would be able to compete on pure academic merit is what is annoying
thinking you're superior when you lost the war (that you started) and are juniorest partners politically yet make the most noise without thinking there Will be consequences (very unintelligent and Un appealing)

Inferiority complaex dey worry this bobo, no be our fault complain to God for making us achievers, we parades the best human resources in naija

Yahoo-rubas and hausa-cows why not come and check name(s) as you always claim to do when ever its a drug case, we will keep improving, you will keep jealousing.......

UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA
THE ONLY UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA Great Lion and lioness
GOD BLESS THE IGBO RACE
MAY YOUR ENEMIES TURN AGAINST EACH OTHER