{"id":6589,"date":"2023-02-17T12:34:01","date_gmt":"2023-02-17T17:34:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cte\/?page_id=6589"},"modified":"2026-06-23T11:46:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T15:46:14","slug":"unite-case-studies","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cte\/brain-donation-registry\/unite-case-studies\/","title":{"rendered":"UNITE Case Studies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Case Studies<\/h3>\n

Pathology, the scientific study of the nature of disease and its causes, is the bedrock of medical research. Usually, before a disease can be diagnosed in living people or treated, it must be understood pathologically.<\/p>\n

In 2009, only 51 cases of CTE had been studied pathologically and published in medical literature. By 2018, this number has risen to over 320 cases of CTE. Eight years later in 2026, that number is over 900 cases.<\/p>\n

Much can be learned by combining pathology with a retrospective examination of the person\u2019s life and clinical symptoms. Please review the case studies below. If the case is identified by name, the family has given explicit permission to share their story with the hope of increasing understanding of this devastating disease.\u00a0For additional insight into our brain donors, read our Donor Stories<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Peer-reviewed, Published Case Study:<\/strong> Mez J, Solomon TM, Daneshvar DH, Stein TD, McKee AC. Pathologically Confirmed Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in a 25-Year-Old Former College Football Player. JAMA Neurol. 2016 Mar; 73(3):353-5.<\/span>View Related Profiles<\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0PMID:\u00a0<\/span>26747562<\/a>; PMCID:\u00a0<\/span>PMC4792748<\/a>; DOI:\u00a0<\/span>10.1001\/jamaneurol.2015.3998<\/a>;.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lou Creekmur<\/h5>
Member of NFL Hall of Fame, died at age 82<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lou Creekmur, a former Detroit Lions lineman and eight-time Pro Bowl player, died in 2009 from dementia. The CSTE examined Mr. Creekmur\u2019s brain and found substantial evidence of CTE. There was no evidence of Alzheimer\u2019s disease or of any other neurodegenerative disease. Mr. Creekmur was the tenth former NFL player diagnosed with CTE and the most advanced case of CTE found in a football player to date at the CSTE.<\/p>\n

\"creekmur1smltrs.JPG\"<\/p>\n

Figure 7 shows dense tau deposits (brown) in the insula (1), temporal (2) and frontal (3) cortices, amygdala (4) and hippocampus (5) in the absence of beta amyloid plaques. A normal control brain would not show any brown discoloration.<\/small><\/p>\n

Read more about Lou Creekmur<\/em>
\nWashington Post<\/a> | CTE is a real risk for football players
\nPress Release<\/a> | Member of NFL Hall of Fame Diagnosed with Degenerative Brain Disease<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

Mike Borich<\/h5>
Former college football player, died at age 42<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mike Borich, a former college football wide receiver, died of a drug overdose in February 2009. Borich played for Snow College and Western Illinois University in the 1980s, and was later a football coach for the NFL\u2019s Chicago Bears and multiple division 1 college teams. Mr. Borich was the first advanced case of CTE discovered in a college football player who did not play professionally.\u00a0 Mr. Borich also represents the first case of CTE diagnosed in a wide receiver.<\/p>\n

\"borich2.JPG\"
\nFigure 8:<\/em> Normal control brain tissue and Mike Borich brain tissue<\/p>\n

\n
Left:<\/em> Whole mount hemi\u2013section of 61-year-old normal control brain immunostained for tau protein (brown) and counterstained with cresyl violet (purple) showing no tau deposition.<\/div>\n
Right:<\/em> Whole mount hemi\u2013section of 42-year-old Mike Borich immunostained for tau protein (brown) and counterstained with cresyl violet (purple) showing extensive tau deposition throughout the frontal (1) and temporal (2) gray matter.<\/small><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\"borichslides.JPG\"
\nFigure 9:<\/em> Normal control brain tissue and Mike Borich brain tissue<\/p>\n

Photomicrographs of normal control brain (top panels) and the brain of Mike Borich (bottom panels), immunostained for tau protein (brown) and counterstained with cresyl violet (purple). Virtually no tau deposition is found in the normal control brain whereas numerous tau containing neurofibrillary tangles are found in individual nerve cells of the brain of Mike Borich.<\/small><\/p>\n

Read more about Mike Borich<\/em>
\nNew York Times<\/a> | Concussion Trauma Risk Seen in Amateur Athlete
\nPress Release<\/a> | First Former College Football Player Diagnosed with CTE<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

John Grimsley<\/h5>
Former NFL player, died at age 45<\/strong><\/p>\n

The first deceased athlete examined by the CSTE researchers was John Grimsley, former linebacker for the Houston Oilers and Miami Dolphins, who died in February 2008 at the age of 45 from an accidental gunshot wound.\u00a0 Examination of Mr. Grimsley\u2019s brain confirmed extensive CTE. In both sets of photographs, below, the brain tissue has been immunostained for tau protein, which appears as a dark brown color.<\/p>\n

Read the 15 year anniversary article here<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Tau<\/p>\n

Figure 1: Tau immunostained sections of medial temporal lobe from 3 individuals<\/div>\n
\n
Top left:<\/u><\/em> Whole brain section from a 65 year old control subject showing no tau protein deposition<\/div>\n
Top middle:<\/u><\/em> Whole brain section from John Grimsley showing abundant tau protein deposition in the amygdala and adjacent temporal cortex<\/div>\n
Top right:<\/u><\/em> Whole brain section from a 73 year old world champion boxer with severe dementia showing very severe tau protein deposition in the amygdala and thalamus<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Bottom left:<\/u><\/em> Microscopic section from 65 year old control subject also shows no tau protein deposition<\/div>\n
Bottom middle:<\/u><\/em> Microscopic section showing numerous tau positive neurofibrillary tangles and neurites in the amygdala<\/div>\n
Bottom right:<\/u><\/em> Microscopic section from a 73 year old world champion boxer with severe dementia showing extremely dense tau positive neurofibrillary tangles and neurites in the amygdala<\/small><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\"Tau<\/p>\n

Figure 2: Tau immunostained sections of frontal cortex from 3 individuals<\/div>\n
\n
Top left:<\/u><\/em> Whole brain section from a 65 year old control subject showing no tau protein deposition<\/div>\n
Top middle:<\/u><\/em> Whole brain section from John Grimsley showing patchy deposition of tau protein in the frontal cortex<\/div>\n
Top right:<\/u><\/em> Whole brain section from a 73 year old world champion boxer with severe dementia showing very severe, patchy tau protein deposition in the frontal cortex<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Bottom left:<\/u><\/em> Microscopic section from 65 year old control subject showing no tau protein deposition<\/div>\n
Bottom middle:<\/u><\/em> Microscopic section from John Grimsley showing numerous tau positive neurofibrillary tangles and neurites in the frontal cortex<\/div>\n
Bottom right:<\/u><\/em> Microscopic section from a 73 year old world champion boxer with severe dementia showing dense tau positive neurofibrillary tangles and neurites in the frontal cortex<\/small><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Read more about John Grimsley<\/em>
\nNew York Times<\/a> | 12 Athletes Leaving Brains To Researchers<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

Tom McHale<\/h5>
Former NFL player, died at age 45<\/strong><\/p>\n

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Tom McHale died in 2008 at age 45 from a drug overdose. Mr. McHale, Cornell University graduate, was a successful restaurateur and husband and father of three boys. He was the sixth former NFL player to be diagnosed post-mortem with CTE.<\/p>\n

Read the 15 year anniversary article here<\/a><\/p>\n

\"45<\/p>\n

Figure 3:<\/em> Thomas McHale brain tissue<\/div>\n
\n
Top left:<\/u><\/em> Whole mount section of neocortex immunostained for tau protein showing extensive deposition of tau protein as neurofibrillary tangles throughout the neocortex<\/div>\n
Top right:<\/u><\/em> Whole mount section of amygdala immunostained for tau protein showing dense, patchy deposition of tau protein<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Bottom left:<\/u><\/em> High magnification photomicrograph of neocortex howing innumerable tau immunoreactive neurofibrillary tangles and neuropil neurites<\/div>\n
Bottom right:<\/u><\/em> High magnification photomicrograph showing tau immunoreactive neurofibrillary tangles and neuropil neurites in the amygdale<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/small><\/p>\n

\"45<\/p>\n

Figure 4:<\/em> Thomas McHale brain tissue<\/div>\n
\n
Top left:<\/u><\/em> Whole mount section of inferior orbital cortex immunostained for tau protein showing dense, patchy deposition of tau protein<\/div>\n
Top right:<\/u><\/em> Whole mount section of hippocampus and temporal cortex immunostained for tau protein showing dense, patchy deposition of tau protein<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Bottom left:<\/u><\/em> High magnification photomicrograph sof inferior orbital cortex howing numerous tau immunoreactive neurofibrillary tangles and neuropil neurite<\/div>\n
Bottom right:<\/u><\/em> High magnification photomicrograph showing numerous tau immunoreactive neurofibrillary tangles and neuropil neurites in the hippocampus<\/small><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Read more about Thomas McHale<\/em>
\nNew York Times<\/a> | Sixth N.F.L. Player’s Brain Is Found to Have Damage
\nPress Release<\/a> | Boston University School of Medicine announces New Findings Linking Football and Progressive Brain Damage<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

John Doe<\/h5>
Multi-sport athlete, died at age 18<\/strong><\/p>\n

John Doe (the family has asked to keep his identity private) was a multi-sport athlete who suffered multiple concussions in high school football. Analysis of Mr. Doe\u2019s brain revealed the earliest evidence of CTE ever recorded.<\/p>\n

\"18<\/p>\n

Figure 5: 18 year old brain tissue<\/em><\/div>\n
\n
Top left:<\/u><\/em> Whole mount section of frontal cortex showing very focal deposition of tau protein around small blood vessels (red box)<\/div>\n
Top right:<\/u><\/em> Another whole mount section of frontal and insular cortex showing very focal deposition of tau protein around a small blood vessel in insulara cortex (red box)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Bottom left:<\/u><\/em> High magnification shows dense tau immunoreactive NFTs around small blood vessels (holes) and extensive tau immunoreactive neurites in the neuropil immediately surrounding the area<\/div>\n
Bottom right:<\/u><\/em> High magnification shows dense tau immunoreactive NFTs around a small blood vessel (hole) and tau immunoreactive neurites in the neuropil immediately surrounding the area<\/small><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Read more about youth football head trauma<\/em>
\nCenters for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a> | Comparing Head Impacts in Youth Tackle and Flag Football
\nPress Release<\/a> |Boston University School of Medicine Announces New Findings Linking Football and Progressive Brain Damage
\nOur Recent Publication <\/a> | Decreased myelin proteins in brain donors exposed to football-related repetitive head impacts<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Case Studies Pathology, the scientific study of the nature of disease and its causes, is the bedrock of medical research. Usually, before a disease can be diagnosed in living people or treated, it must be understood pathologically. In 2009, only 51 cases of CTE had been studied pathologically and published in medical literature. By 2018, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21100,"featured_media":0,"parent":54,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6589"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21100"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6589"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10270,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6589\/revisions\/10270"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/54"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cte\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}