Two deceased CFL players who donated their brains to science both suffered from the brain disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, new test results reveal.
The brains of former Toronto Argonaut and Hamilton Tiger-Cat Bobby Kuntz, and former Ottawa Rough Rider Jay Roberts, both showed signs of CTE. Both had the typical pattern of the buildup of a brain protein called tau that marks the disease.
Both had donated their brains to the Canadian Sports Concussion Project, which is part of the Krembil Neuroscience Centre at Toronto Western Hospital. The centre released the results of the testing on Tuesday.
Kuntz and Roberts both suffered repeated concussions during their football careers.
Kuntz died in February at the age of 79 after a long battle with Parkinson's disease and diffuse Lewy body disease, a form of dementia. Roberts died last October at 67, after suffering from dementia and lung cancer.
"While both of these men appeared to have pathological signs of CTE, they also suffered from other serious neurological and vascular related diseases," neuropathologist Dr. Lili-Naz Hazrati noted in a news release.
CTE is a degenerative brain disease that has been strongly linked with repeated concussions. The condition can cause memory problems and dementia. It can also cause erratic behaviour, poor impulse control and depression.
Two other CFL players who also donated their brains did not have signs of CTE, doctors said, even though they too had a history of concussions.
Former Winnipeg Blue Bomber Peter Ribbins, who died in December of Parkinson's disease, and former Montreal Alouette Tony Proudfoot, who died this year of Lou Gehrig's disease at the age of 61, did not have any of the hallmark signs of the disease.
Concussion expert Dr. Charles Tator said he and his fellow researchers are still trying to understand why Kuntz and Roberts acquired CTE and the other two did not.
"It was surprising that in fact, only two of the four brains had this condition," Tator told CTV Toronto. "The question is: how come two got this disease and two didn't."
He said researchers still need to understand how many concussions or what kind of concussions lead to the onset of CTE.
That's why he ad his team would like to one day be able to study as many as 500 brains. But so far, only about 20 former athletes have promised to donate their brains to the centre for research.
Mary Kuntz, wife of the late Bobby Kuntz, donated his brain to the Canadian Sports Concussion Project at the Krembil Neuroscience Centre and said learning of the test results "has brought us a sense of closure."
"We've always had questions about Bob's health, because there were so many conflicting medical opinions," she said in the release.
"We knew there must have been some effect from all of the concussions over the years, and this was an affirmation that concussions did have a part in his health problems.
She added that young players should know about the risks of concussions.
"When you are young, you can't believe what can happen to you when you are older, but we have lived though it. What is good about this study is that there will be more evidence and information for players," she said.
