Vincent Jackson, former NFL star found dead in hotel room in February, had stage 2 CTE, family says

Former NFL wide receiver Vincent Jackson, who was found dead last February in a Florida hotel room, had the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy, known as CTE, his family announced Thursday. Dr. Ann McKee, who directs the Boston University-based research center where his brain was examined, said in a statement the 38-year-old was diagnosed with stage 2 of the disease.

"Vincent Jackson was a brilliant, disciplined, gentle giant whose life began to change in his mid-30s," McKee said in the statement. "He became depressed, with progressive memory loss, problem solving difficulties, paranoia, and eventually extreme social isolation. That his brain showed stage 2 CTE should no longer surprise us; these results have become commonplace."

CTE, which can only be diagnosed through an autopsy, has been found in former members of the military, football players, boxers and others who have been subjected to repeated head trauma. One recent study found signs of the debilitating disease in 110 of 111 NFL players whose brains were inspected.