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Dementia pugilistica, also called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, pugilistic Parkinson's syndrome, boxer's dementia, and punch-drunk syndrome, is a neurological disorder which affects some career boxers and others who receive multiple dazing blows to the head. The condition develops over a period of years, with the average time of onset being about 12-16 years after the start of a career in boxing.
The condition, which occurs in people who have suffered multiple concussions, commonly manifests as dementia, or declining mental ability, and parkinsonism, or tremors and lack of coordination. It can also cause unsteady gait, inappropriate behavior, and speech problems.
It is not well understood why this syndrome occurs (Drake and Cifu, 2004). Loss of neurons, scarring of brain tissue, collection of proteinaceous, senile plaques, hydrocephalus, attenuation of corpus callosum, diffuse axonal injury, neurofibrillary tangles and damage to the cerebellum are implicated in the syndrome, which may be etiologically related to Alzheimer's disease (Graham and Gennareli, 2000).
Famous sufferers include Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Beau Jack and, more recently, Muhammad Ali, Floyd Patterson (who resigned from the New York State Athletic Commission because of his deteriorating memory), Jerry Quarry, Mike Quarry, Wilfredo Benitez, Emile Griffith, Willie Pep, Freddie Roach, Sugar Ray Robinson, and reportedly Meldrick Taylor (although this is a subject of controversy.)