John Grimsley
Former NFL player
Died at age 45
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. Examination of Mr. Grimsley’s 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.
Figure 1: Tau immunostained sections of medial temporal lobe from 3 individuals
Top left: Whole brain section from a 65 year old control subject showing no tau protein deposition
Bottom left: Microscopic section from 65 year old control subject also shows no tau protein deposition
Top middle: Whole brain section from John Grimsley showing abundant tau protein deposition in the amygdala and adjacent temporal cortex
Bottom middle: Microscopic section showing numerous tau positive neurofibrillary tangles and neurites in the amygdala
Top right: 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
Bottom right: 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
Figure 2: Tau immunostained sections of frontal cortex from 3 individuals
Top left: Whole brain section from a 65 year old control subject showing no tau protein deposition
Bottom left: Microscopic section from 65 year old control subject showing no tau protein deposition
Top middle: Whole brain section from John Grimsley showing patchy deposition of tau protein in the frontal cortex
Bottom middle: Microscopic section from John Grimsley showing numerous tau positive neurofibrillary tangles and neurites in the frontal cortex
Top right: 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
Bottom right: 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
Read more about John Grimsley
New York Times | 12 Athletes Leaving Brains To Researchers