Matt Hasselbeck Joins Study to Diagnose CTE in the Living

Former NFL quarterback Matt Hasselbeck recently spent two days at Boston University undergoing scans and tests as part of a study aimed at diagnosing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in living people — something doctors currently cannot do.

CTE, a degenerative brain disease linked to concussions and repeated head trauma, has been diagnosed in more than 100 former NFL players after their deaths, including Hall of Famers Junior Seau and Ken Stabler, and former Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez. Right now, the disease can only be confirmed posthumously.

Hasselbeck, 50, played 17 years in the NFL and was a three-time Pro Bowl selection. He said he wanted to contribute despite feeling healthy, noting that teammates who blocked for him or played special teams absorbed more punishing hits.

"They need guys like me — they need people who are feeling good to step up to the plate and volunteer," Hasselbeck said. "They had my back, so in a way I'd like to have their back."

The study is led by Michael Alosco, co-director of clinical research at the Boston University CTE Center, who hopes to expand it to hundreds of participants at sites in Boston, California, Arizona, Texas and Florida. Researchers are recruiting both former football players and Alzheimer's patients with no history of contact sports, aiming to distinguish between the two diseases, which share similarities but require different diagnostic markers.

"We've applied what we've known worked for Alzheimer's disease, but we've learned it does not work for CTE," Alosco said. "We've really got to push discovery efforts and find the marker that's specific to the protein of CTE versus Alzheimer's."

Nicholas Ashton, the principal investigator in Phoenix, said about 10 patients have taken part at the Arizona site. "Treatments exploded with Alzheimer's once we were able to accurately diagnose. We're trying to get to the same spot with CTE," he said.

Hasselbeck underwent cognitive tests, a blood draw, an MRI and a PET scan. He is also donating his brain for research after his death. Bryan Savage, a 56-year-old former Division III linebacker from Maryland who has been diagnosed with depression and ADHD, also participated and has committed to donating his brain, saying he wanted answers about symptoms he and former teammates have experienced.