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Shwetha Surendran
Mind consultants say it might take weeks to be taught whether or not Shane Tamura, the 27-year-old gunman who killed four people at a Manhattan office building earlier than killing himself Monday, had persistent traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative mind illness that may be identified solely after somebody has died.
The method of testing for CTE, in line with mind researchers and consultants who spoke with ESPN, entails preserving, dissecting, staining and analyzing tissue samples from totally different areas of the mind underneath a microscope.
“That course of generally is a week, two [weeks],” mentioned Dr. Brent Masel, a neurologist on the board of the Mind Damage Affiliation of America. “… So there won’t be an immediate reply to that.”
Investigators imagine Tamura, a Las Vegas on line casino employee, was making an attempt to get to the NFL workplaces after taking pictures a number of folks Monday within the constructing’s foyer however entered the flawed set of elevator banks.
Tamura, who performed highschool soccer in California roughly a decade in the past however by no means within the NFL, had a historical past of psychological sickness, police mentioned.
A be aware present in Tamura’s pockets recommended he suffered from CTE and held a grievance in opposition to the NFL. Within the be aware, he repeatedly mentioned he was sorry and requested that his mind be studied for CTE, in line with police.
Requested whether or not Tamura could be examined for CTE, New York Metropolis Mayor Eric Adams instructed CNN that the town’s health worker would make that dedication. The Metropolis of New York Workplace of Chief Medical Examiner instructed ESPN in an electronic mail Tuesday that an “examination of mind (neuropathology) is a part of the whole post-mortem course of.”
“Extra testing for the whole post-mortem document … shall be ongoing,” however the Metropolis of New York Workplace of Chief Medical Examiner didn’t reply when requested concerning the timeline for testing, which incorporates the examination of the mind.
Whether or not the gunman is identified with CTE or not, consultants cautioned in opposition to drawing direct connections between the taking pictures and the illness.
“A number of components” come into play, Dr. Julia Kofler, a neuropathologist on the College of Pittsburgh, instructed ESPN, noting that “we do not actually understand how they relate to one another.”
“I feel the connection between CTE and these acts of violence, it is unattainable to essentially infer a causal relationship,” Kofler instructed ESPN. “There are such a lot of people with CTE who do not commit acts like this.”
Kofler mentioned CTE “in some circumstances” might be simpler to diagnose in a youthful particular person as a result of their brains do not but have aging-related adjustments.
Masel mentioned that it was vital to know that not everybody who has had a number of mind accidents goes to develop CTE.
“We definitely hope that no one would simply assume that if you happen to’ve performed soccer and you’ve got psychiatric points, you will have CTE and the NFL is at fault right here,” Masel mentioned.
For researchers to acquire tissue samples, Kofler mentioned, consent from the household often is required and that totally different medical experts have totally different insurance policies surrounding analysis.