One time Super Bowl MVP and Oakland Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler, who died in July, suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, researchers at Boston University told the New York Times Wednesday.
Scientists believe repeated head trauma causes CTE, a progressive degenerative brain disease that can manifest in depression, disorientation and aggression. So far, it’s only diagnosable after death. It’s link to the National Football League has been controversial because dozens of ex-professional football players have been shown to have struggled with CTE.
In October, Boston University and the Department of Veterans Affairs researchers said 87 out of 91 former NFL players who donated their brains to science after death tested positive for CTE.
It’s not clear why some players develop the disease and others do not. The study results don’t necessarily mean that 96% of all NFL players are at risk for CTE, said Dr. Robert Cantu told CNN. The players who donated their brains were concerned about the disease, he said.
In 2015, the League and thousands of former players settled a lawsuit that provides up to $5 million per retired player for serious medical conditions associated with repeated head trauma.
Stabler was 69 when he died of colon cancer, according to the Times. He had requested that his brain was removed during an autopsy and taken to researchers in Massachusetts. On a scale of 1 to 4, Stabler had high Stage 3 chronic CTE, Boston University told the Times.
The brain tissue of people found to have CTE shows an abnormal build-up of tau, a protein that can, when it leaves cells can disable neural pathways that control memory, judgment and fear.
Cantu pointedly says that CTE is not unique to athletes.
“There are a number of cases in people who never saw an athletic field,” he said.
The doctor provided examples of former military members, people who have suffered from gram mal seizures, autistic children who rocked and banged their heads, abuse victims, and even people who were shot out of a cannon as part of a circus act.