Autopsy Shows the N.H.L.’s Todd Ewen Did Not Have C.T.E.

When the former N.H.L. enforcer Todd Ewen died in September, reportedly of a self-inflicted gunshot, his brain was sent to researchers. Years of memory loss and undiagnosed depression led to speculation that Ewen, 49, had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease caused by repeated blows to the head.

On Wednesday, researchers in Toronto announced that Ewen did not have C.T.E., upending presumptions about the disease and raising more questions about why some athletes get it and others do not, even those displaying some of C.T.E.’s classic symptoms.

Read the full article at The New York Times.