Former Boston Bruins enforcer and WAAF radio personality Lyndon Byers, who died last July at the age of 61, suffered from stage 3 chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), according to research conducted by the Boston University CTE Center.
Byers had pledged to donate his brain to the UNITE Brain Bank to have it studied, and his family followed through on that pledge after his death. His widow, Anne, authorized the results of that analysis to be shared Thursday to raise awareness.
Dr. Chris Nowinski, the CEO of the Concussion & CTE Foundation, joined The Greg Hill Show Thursday morning to discuss the findings. You can listen to the full conversation at the 25:00 mark above.
Byers becomes the 20th known former NHL player to be diagnosed with CTE, which can still only be diagnosed after death (although Nowinski did share that they are getting closer to being able to diagnose CTE in living people). The list includes names like Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, Bob Probert and Derek Boogaard.
Anne Byers, LB's wife of 18 years, also released a statement on the findings:
"It was hard to see his personality change so dramatically," she said. "He was so fun and vibrant but towards the end it got to the point where he didn’t want to socialize or even leave the house. He battled severe depression, had episodes of hallucinations, and his struggles with short-term memory loss made it difficult for him to navigate the day on his own. I will do whatever I can to make sure nobody else has to watch their loved one deteriorate like that."
