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12 Athletes Leaving Brains to Concussion Study
A dozen athletes, including six NFL players agreed to donate their brains to the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at Boston University's School of Medicine. The Center is devoted to studying the long-term effects of concussion. One player is former New England Patriot linebacker Ted Johnson, who said "...any doctor who doesn't connect concussions with long-term effects should be ashamed of themselves." Ted Johnson's story is the subject of a blog I did on another site. He suffered multiple concussions from 2002 through 2005 which resulted in permanent degenerative brain damage with memory, depression, and suicidal ideation.Last Tuesday, the Center announced that a deceased NFL player, the former Houston Oilers linebacker, John Grimsley, was found to have brain damage commonly associated with boxers. John Grimsley died in February at age 45 after he shot himself in the chest. Analysis of his brain confirmed the presence of damage that had begun to affect Mr. Grimsley's behavior and memory. Mr. Grimsley's widow said Grimsley sustained about nine concussions in his nine NFL seasons. For the last four to five years of his life (i.e., beginning at 40 years of age), Grimsley suffered irritability and severe short-term memory problems. The Center has now examined the brains of six deceased NFL players. Grimsley's brain was the fifth found to have chronic traumatic encephalopathy, joining former Eagles defensive back Andre Waters (who was depressed and committed suicide), former Steeler iron man Mike Webser (who died alone and homeless at the bottom of a canyon), and formers Steelers Terry Long (who died in a bizarre car crash in which he drove head on into an oncoming 18 wheeler) and Justin Strzelczyk. Interestingly, chronic traumatic encephalopathy does not show up on a brain MRI, CT or other radiologic study, but can only be confirmed by post-mortem tissue analysis. Each of these athletes died at young ages. The brain damage seen in the tissue analysis of their brains is exceedingly rare in people of that age without a history of repetitive brain injury. The tissue analysis further proves that serious brain damage may not be detected by MRI or CT.
Among the living athletes with histories of concussions who agreed to donate their brains for tissue analysis after their deaths are Ted Johnson and former Tennessee Titan tight end Frank Wycheck. As John Grimsley's widow said, "Even though he's gone, he'll still be helping people." Kudos to all of these athletes for donating their brains in order to advance the understanding of this serious problem.
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