Junior Seau Suicide Caused By Brain Disease Caused By NFL Head Trauma

The NFL world was stunned after Junior Seau committed suicide, and now the National Institutes of Health is reporting that the aggressive player had a degenerative brain disease when he took his own life last May.

The NIH studied the former athlete's brain and found abnormalities which are consistent with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Dr. Russell Lonser, was in charge of the study said, "The brain was independently evaluated by multiple experts, in a blind fashion," he added, "We had the opportunity to get multiple experts involved in a way they wouldn't be able to directly identify his tissue even if they knew he was one of the individuals studied."

The NIH studies had shown similar findings with three other brains "with exposure to repetitive head injuries."  The star linebacker played 20 NFL seasons with San Diego, Miami and New England and retired in 2009. Seau's family asked for his brain to be examined in order to save other athletes lives who may have suffered head trauma.

The NFL now faces thousands of lawsuits by former athletes that claim the NFL withheld information about the effects concussions cause. According to the Associated Press, the NFL have been working along with the Sau family in order to recognize the harmful side effects of a concussion, "We appreciate the Seau family's cooperation with the National Institutes of Health. The finding underscores the recognized need for additional research to accelerate a fuller understanding of CTE. The NFL, both directly and in partnership with the NIH, Centers for Disease Control and other leading organizations, is committed to supporting a wide range of independent medical and scientific research that will both address CTE and promote the long-term health and safety of athletes at all levels."