BOSTON, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- A former member of the Buffalo Bills, Cookie Gilchrist, had a neurodegenerative disease that caused cognitive decline and behavioral problems, researchers say.
Gilchrist, a running back that played for the Bills from 1962 through 1964, who died last January at age 75, suffered from significant brain damage associated with repeated head trauma that caused difficulties in behavior and cognition beginning at approximately age 35, the Buffalo (N.Y.) News reported.
His family donated his brain to the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at Boston University, which is studying the brains of deceased professional athletes.
Dr. Robert Stern, co-director of the center and professor of neurology and neurosurgery at Boston University, said Gilchrist, who played football from 1956 through 1967, had Stage IV, the most advanced category, of chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
"That included paranoia, problems with impulse control, strange behaviors and being rather reclusive," Stern told the News. "He also had a very short fuse and was aggressive at times. In the last 10 years of his life, these symptoms apparently worsened, and in the last year or so, he demonstrated more significant cognitive difficulties, including problems with memory, judgment and problem solving."
The 6-foot, 3-inch 251-pound running back combined for 3,931 yards rushing and receiving and scored 35 touchdowns during three seasons. He helped lead the Bills to their first American Football League championship in 1964 and also played six seasons in the Canadian Football League.
