%0 Review %T Severe CTE and TDP-43 pathology in a former professional soccer player with dementia: a clinicopathological case report and review of the literature. %A van Amerongen S %A Kamps S %A Kaijser KKM %A Pijnenburg YAL %A Scheltens P %A Teunissen CE %A Barkhof F %A Ossenkoppele R %A Rozemuller AJM %A Stern RA %A Hoozemans JJM %A Vijverberg EGB %J Acta Neuropathol Commun %V 11 %N 1 %D 2023 05 10 %M 37161501 %F 7.578 %R 10.1186/s40478-023-01572-3 %X In the last decades, numerous post-mortem case series have documented chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in former contact-sport athletes, though reports of CTE pathology in former soccer players are scarce. This study presents a clinicopathological case of a former professional soccer player with young-onset dementia. The patient experienced early onset progressive cognitive decline and developed dementia in his mid-50 s, after playing soccer for 12 years at a professional level. While the clinical picture mimicked Alzheimer's disease, amyloid PET imaging did not provide evidence of elevated beta-amyloid plaque density. After he died in his mid-60 s, brain autopsy showed severe phosphorylated tau (p-tau) abnormalities fulfilling the neuropathological criteria for high-stage CTE, as well as astrocytic and oligodendroglial tau pathology in terms of tufted astrocytes, thorn-shaped astrocytes, and coiled bodies. Additionally, there were TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43) positive cytoplasmic inclusions in the frontal lobe and hippocampus, and Amyloid Precursor Protein (APP) positivity in the axons of the white matter. A systematic review of the literature revealed only 13 other soccer players with postmortem diagnosis of CTE. Our report illustrates the complex clinicopathological correlation of CTE and the need for disease-specific biomarkers.