Former WWE Superstar Kevin Nash has revealed that after he dies, he wants his brain and spinal cord to be donated to the CTE Center at Boston University and the Concussion Legacy Foundation after his death.
Nash, 56, revealed his plans in an interview with ESPN this week;
“Chris Nowinski started the program, and I’ve had several concussions throughout my life and had scans done and stuff and knew that somewhere down the line, I’ve already had short-term memory problems,” Nash said. “I decided to go ahead. The only way you can diagnose this is after you’re dead.”
The CTE Center is founded by former WWE Superstar Chris Nowinski and Dr. Robert Cantu, and it is at the forefront of research on repetitive head injuries. Researchers have identified dozens of deceased former NFL players and former wrestlers as having suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.
CTE is a degenerative brain disease that has been linked to repeated head trauma. Boston University highlights “memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, impulse-control problems, aggression, depression, and, eventually, progressive dementia” as CTE’s main symptoms.
Nowinsky complimented Nash on his kind actions;
It’s so powerful when icons like Kevin Nash are willing to pledge their brain for research and talk about it publicly. Brain donation is really driving our growing knowledge of CTE and the long-term effects of brain trauma. I’m hoping that we solve this problem before Kevin’s time comes, but Kevin announcing this means that other families are aware that this research is important and that if they lose somebody, they may think of the Concussion Legacy Foundation.
For more information on the CTE CEnter and what they do, please visit their website here – http://chrisnowinski.com/bu-cte-center/