Experts: It Could Take Weeks to Determine if the Manhattan Shooter Had CTE
Neurology experts say it could take weeks to determine if Shane Tamura, the 27-year-old man who caused the deaths of four people in a Manhattan office building before taking his own life on Monday, suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease that can only be diagnosed post-mortem. The ETC analysis process, according to researchers and brain specialists, involves the preservation, dissection, staining, and examination of tissue samples from different areas of the brain under a microscope.Researchers believe that Tamura, an employee of a Las Vegas casino, was trying to get to the NFL offices after shooting several people on Monday in the building’s lobby, but entered the wrong group of elevators. Tamura, who played American football in high school in California about a decade ago, but never in the NFL, had a history of mental illness, according to the police. A note found in Tamura’s wallet suggested he suffered from CTE and had a complaint against the NFL. In the note, he repeatedly apologized and asked for his brain to be studied for CTE, according to the police.“That process can take a week, two weeks,” said Dr. Brent Masel, a board-certified neurologist with the Brain Injury Association of America. “… Therefore, there will not be an instant response to that.”
Dr. Brent Masel
When asked if Tamura would be subjected to CTE testing, New York City Mayor Eric Adams told CNN that the city’s medical examiner would make that determination. The New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner reported in an email that a “brain examination (neuropathology) is part of the complete autopsy process”.
“Additional tests will be performed for the complete autopsy record…”, but the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner did not respond when asked about the timeline for the tests, which includes the examination of the brain. However, regardless of whether the shooter is diagnosed with CTE or not, experts warned against drawing direct connections between the shooting and the disease.Kofler said that ETC “in some cases” could be easier to diagnose in a younger person because their brains don’t yet have age-related changes. Masel said it was important to know that not all people who have suffered multiple brain injuries will develop CTE.“Multiple factors” come into play, said Dr. Julia Kofler, a neuropathologist at the University of Pittsburgh, noting that “we really don’t know how they relate to each other.”
Dr. Julia Kofler
To obtain tissue samples, Kofler said, generally requires family consent and that different forensic doctors have different policies regarding the investigation.“We certainly hope that no one simply assumes that if you’ve played American football and have psychiatric problems, you have CTE and the NFL is guilty here,” Masel said.
Masel
