Brain Damage Newsroom

Concussions Linked to Depression in NFL Player Who Committed Suicide

Football-related brain damage may have led to the depression of former NFL player Andre Waters, who committed suicide last November, suggests a University of Pittsburgh neuropathologist.

Dr. Bennet Omalu, a leading expert in forensic pathology, examined the remains of the player's brain and concluded that the brain tissue had degenerated to the point where it resembled that of an 85-year-old man with early Alzheimer's disease, The New York Times reported.

Waters was 44 years old when he died. It's likely that successive football-related concussions caused or significantly accelerated the brain damage, said Omalu, who plans to do further investigation into the case.

His conclusions, which have not been corroborated or reviewed, add more fuel to the growing debate about whether athletes and others who suffer multiple concussions are at increased risk for depression, dementia and suicide as early as midlife, The Times reported.

The NFL would not comment specifically on the Waters case. Later this year, the league will begin a study of retired players in order to examine the issue of football concussions and subsequent depression, said Dr. Andrew Tucker, a member of the NFL's mild traumatic brain injury committee

Football-related brain damage may have led to the depression of former NFL player Andre Waters, who committed suicide last November, suggests a University of Pittsburgh neuropathologist.

Dr. Bennet Omalu, a leading expert in forensic pathology, examined the remains of the player's brain and concluded that the brain tissue had degenerated to the point where it resembled that of an 85-year-old man with early Alzheimer's disease, The New York Times reported.

Waters was 44 years old when he died. It's likely that successive football-related concussions caused or significantly accelerated the brain damage, said Omalu, who plans to do further investigation into the case.

His conclusions, which have not been corroborated or reviewed, add more fuel to the growing debate about whether athletes and others who suffer multiple concussions are at increased risk for depression, dementia and suicide as early as midlife, The Times reported.

The NFL would not comment specifically on the Waters case. Later this year, the league will begin a study of retired players in order to examine the issue of football concussions and subsequent depression, said Dr. Andrew Tucker, a member of the NFL's mild traumatic brain injury committee.