The tragic life and death former Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, a Bristol native, may have some redeeming value for scientists studying chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
Following his April 19 suicide death in a Massachusetts prison, the Hernandez family donated the 27-year-old’s brain for study at the Boston University Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center.
“CTE is a gradually progressive-in-onset disease,” said Dr. Mark Alberts, physician-in-chief of the Hartford HealthCare Ayer Neuroscience Center. “Some of the classic signs and symptoms of CTE include confusion, difficulty with memory, depression, personality change, aggressiveness and, in some cases, suicide,” he said.
CTE is relatively rare. It most often affects athletes in sports that include repeated blows to the head and frequent concussions, such as football, boxing, ice hockey and rugby. It is not exclusive to athletes, however, and may be experienced by victims of domestic violence.
According to the BU CTE Center, “This [repeated] trauma triggers progressive degeneration of the brain tissue, including the buildup of an abnormal protein called tau. These changes in the brain can begin months, years, or even decades after the last brain trauma or end of active athletic involvement.”
Awareness of CTE has led to greater diligence in treating concussions at all levels of sport, from kids’ leagues to the professional realm.
Signs, symptoms and prevention of concussion that everyone needs to know:
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