Late Patriots Demaryius Thomas WR Diagnosed With CTE

Former New England Patriots wide receiver Demaryius Thomas was posthumously diagnosed with CTE.

FOXBORO -- Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE, continues its terrifying run through the football community.

Late Denver Broncos and New England Patriots wide receiver Demaryius Thomas' family recently announced that the former All-Pro was suffering from the disease at the time of his death.

Thomas, who signed a one-year contract with the Patriots in 2019 but never appeared in a regular-season game, played nine seasons in the NFL including four Pro-Bowl years with the Denver Broncos in the mid-2010s.

CTE is especially dangerous for two major reasons. 

Firstly, it is incredibly difficult to detect. The disease can only be diagnosed in deceased patients through analyzing slices of brain tissue using special dyes that bind to tau protein. Tau protein is the abnormal substance that is most commonly associated with CTE (if it sounds familiar, that's because it's also what causes Alzheimer's disease).

Secondly, CTE is dangerous because of how common it is presumed to be. While conventional knowledge originally suggested that just concussions cause CTE, newer research also suggests that repeated minor head trauma can cause the disease as well.

There are four stages to CTE:

Stage One -- Headaches, brain fog, memory problems.

Stage Two -- Depression, mood swings, short-term memory loss, behavioral shifts.

Stage Three -- Increased behavioral shifts, suicidal thoughts, memory loss, aggression.

Stage Four -- Severe memory loss, paranoia, dementia and Parkinson's disease-like symptoms. 

Per Boston University's CTE Center, Thomas was suffering from Stage Two CTE. According to Thomas' mother, Katina Smith, she witnessed the effects of the disease on her son.

Said Smith, "Once I became aware of CTE and began to familiarize myself with the symptoms, I noticed that Demaryius was isolating himself and I saw other changes in him.”

She further discussed why she agreed to have Thomas' brain analyzed.

"I did talk to Boston University and they informed me of what the process entailed. But what really made me go along with it was the more I thought about it, Demaryius had told me that if anything happened to him, he wanted to make sure he left something to help others. It was very important for my son to do what he could for others. So that's why I agreed to go through it.'' 

Smith's heart-wrenching account is yet another testimony to the horror of the disease. With the NFL's infamous history of trying to hide the dangers of CTE in the sport, its clear that the league still has a lot to offer in helping find answers to the mysterious disease that plagues its players.

While Thomas' passing is currently thought to be unrelated to his CTE diagnosis, it remains a poignant reminder of brutality associated with America's most popular sport.