Goodbye to All That

Junior Seau had CTE, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the degenerative brain disease known to afflict individuals who have sustained repeated head injuries over time. Junior Seau played football his whole life and was never officially diagnosed with a concussion.  Last May he sat down one day and shot himself in the heart.  Dave Duerson, the former Bears safety, did this too, as a way to preserve his cadaveric brain for post-mortem study.  The official report from the NIH confirmed a diagnosis that surprises exactly no one.  A lifetime of small, seemingly minor, but accumulative traumatic head blows sustained playing the sport he loved lead to a degenerative brain disease associated with depression, despair, and cognitive deterioration. The NFL is in the process of being sued by a collection of over 4,000 former players for their role in concealing known risks of repeated head trauma over a career.  Mike Webster, former Steelers center, died a homeless man, plagued by dementia and depression, living under freeway overpasses.  His brain showed evidence of CTE.  Andre Waters shot himself at age 44.  At autopsy, is brain had degenerated to that of an 85 year old man with Alzheimers.  Ray Easterling, a safety from the 1970's, shot himself after deciding he could no longer handle the decline into confusion and dementia.  His brain showed clear signs of CTE. Jim McMahon, the QB of th...
Source: Buckeye Surgeon - Category: Surgeons Authors: Source Type: blogs