DETROIT, MICH. ~ A British Medical Journal study released Tuesday shows that at least 25% of ex-NFL players who died between 2016 and 2021 had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a brain disease caused by repeated hits to the head that can only be diagnosed after death but shows itself in symptoms like anger issues, memory loss, and depression.
The study started in 2008, but was narrowed down to the five-year period where the highest number of brain donations had been received.
Of the 878 former players that died during the time frame, researchers from Mass General Brigham, Boston University and the Concussion & CTE Foundation, led by Dr. Daniel Daneshvar, found that 215 of the 235 brains that were donated had been diagnosed with CTE.
For players who didn’t donate their brains, researchers estimated a wide range for possible CTE commonness between 24.5% and 97.7%.
The study also found that 61.3% of the donated brains that had CTE met the criteria for dementia.
