What is C.T.E.?

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or C.T.E., has affected boxers since the 1920s, according to the C.T.E. Center at Boston University, but it surged into the national consciousness in 2007, when The New York Times reported that Andre Waters sustained brain damage from playing football, which led to his depression and ultimate death by suicide.

The degenerative brain disease associated with repeated blows to the head has been found in the brains of more than 315 former N.F.L. players, Waters the third but whose death brought the condition into the mainstream. The group includes 24 players who died in their 20s and 30s, according to Dr. Ann McKee, a neuropathologist and the director of the C.T.E. Center at Boston University.

Junior Seau, 43, Waters, 44, and Dave Duerson, 50, were all found to have C.T.E. after their deaths by suicide, as were Jovan Belcher, 25, a linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs who killed his girlfriend before shooting himself in 2012; Aaron Hernandez, 27, a former New England Patriots tight end who died by suicide after being convicted of a 2013 murder; and Phillip Adams, 32, an N.F.L. defensive back who shot and killed six people in April 2021 before dying by suicide. Vincent Jackson, a longtime receiver with the San Diego Chargers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers who was found dead in February, was recently determined to have had a mild form of C.T.E.

Here’s what to know about C.T.E.

What is C.T.E.?

C.T.E., which can be diagnosed only posthumously, has been linked to a host of symptoms, including memory loss, depression, aggressive behavior and, sometimes, suicidal thoughts. It is a progressive disease, and the symptoms can arise long after the hits to the head have ceased.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/article/cte-definition-nfl.html