The brain of Damien Nash, the Denver Broncos reserve running back who died early this year from an unknown cause, was donated last month to a leading expert in forensic pathology as part of an extensive effort to catalog the degenerative effects that repeated blows to the head have on professional football players, according to the DENVER POST.
While results are unlikely to show that Nash suffered any brain damage at such an early stage in his career - he was only 24 when he died - his brain could be used as part of a control group to determine the length of time it takes for some players to develop cognitive problems.
Nash's brain "could be a great benefit to further research" into postconcussive brain dysfunction, said Bennet Omalu, a neuropathologist from the University of Pittsburgh who has diagnosed brain injuries among three former players - two of whom committed suicide.
While results are unlikely to show that Nash suffered any brain damage at such an early stage in his career - he was only 24 when he died - his brain could be used as part of a control group to determine the length of time it takes for some players to develop cognitive problems.
Nash's brain "could be a great benefit to further research" into postconcussive brain dysfunction, said Bennet Omalu, a neuropathologist from the University of Pittsburgh who has diagnosed brain injuries among three former players - two of whom committed suicide.