Chris Benoit "Extensively Brain Damaged"

[LadyTevar]

WVU doctor examines pro wrestler's brain

Thursday September 06, 2007

The chairman of the WVU Department of Neurosurgery says late pro wrestler Chris Benoit probably suffered more extensive brain damage than any other athlete he's studied in his 25-plus years of research.

Dr. Julian Bailes is the lead neurosurgeon who examined Benoit's brain tissue.

Authorities say the 40-year-old former world champion strangled his wife, suffocated his 7-year-old son and later hanged himself with cables from a weight machine in late June.

The Sports Legacy Institute, a national organization dedicated to brain injury research among athletes, approached the Benoit family about performing tests on the wrestler's brain tissue. Researchers believed this might shed light on why Benoit, often described as a gentle, family-loving man, went on a rampage.

The family gave the group their permission and Benoit's brain was sent to WVU last month for an analysis.

"We had very striking changes in his brain tissue, ones you shouldn't see in someone who was 40 years old," Bailes said about his findings. "Neither medicine nor science can answer all questions about human behavior. But we know Chris Benoit had extensive degeneration of his brain that we believe was caused by prior brain trauma.

"It's maybe one of the worst ones we've seen."

Reports based on the tests claim that Benoit's brain was so damaged that it resembled the brain of an 85-year-old Alzheimer's patient.

The extensive damage likely resulted from 22 years of crashes and bumps inside the wrestling ring. It's not uncommon for pro wrestlers to crack one another over the skull with steel folding chairs and other foreign objects during a match or storyline progression.

One of Benoit's signature moves included a flying headbutt, which involved him diving off the top turnbuckle and striking a prone opponent with the front of his head.

Bailes' research shows brown clumps, a sign of severe dementia, in Benoit's brain. The brown spots represent dead brain cells that have been destroyed by head trauma, Bailes said.

Damage was found in every section of Benoit's brain, from all four lobes to deep into the brain stem.

Benoit's brain was the first of a pro wrestler Bailes had studied.

Bailes, who taught neurosurgery at WVU from 1989 to 1997 before returning in 2000 to chair the department, had previously studied the brains of NFL players who died after suffering extensive damage to their brains.

Bailes was the Pittsburgh Steelers' team neurosurgeon for 10 years and served in that capacity during the career of Steelers' offensive lineman Justin Strzelczyk, who died in 2004. Strzelczyk, 36, was killed in a fiery car crash following a high-speed police chase. It is believed his life spiraled out of control after he retired in1998 because of mental illness brought on by head injuries.

Three other football players who died in the past five years had brain damage. They are Mike Webster, who died of a heart attack, and Terry Long and Andre Waters, who both committed suicide.

The players' brains displayed what doctors call neurofibrillary tangles, which are pathological protein aggregates found within neurons in Alzheimer's disease cases.

Bailes said Benoit probably suffered more damage to his brain than the football players.

He's stated that a person who has three or more concussions is more likely to suffer from depression and dementia.

Benoit's friends had noted that the wrestler lost count of how many concussions he'd received.

Bailes, who isn't a huge wrestling fan, says other performers in the squared-circle are likely sustaining the same type of damage to their brains.

Whether the study prompts organizers of professional wrestling to implement any changes regarding injuries and general safety remains to be seen, Bailes said.

"Obviously, we didn't do it to make changes in the industry," he said. "It was really an effort to continue what we're doing with the Sports Legacy Institute and look at other examples of this problem."

The NFL has increased its awareness of head injuries under the leadership of Commissioner Roger Goodell, due in part to Bailes' research and the Sports Legacy Institute.

The institute was co-founded by a former pro wrestler, Chris Nowinski, whose career was cut short by concussions. Wheeling attorney Robert Patrick Fitzsimmons is also a founding member. Fitzsimmons was a friend of Webster's who represented him in an attempt to get disability payments from the NFL.

Another medical debate surrounding the Benoit murder-suicide has centered on steroid use.

While Bailes acknowledges that Benoit was likely using steroids at some point in his career, the performance-enhancing drugs would not have played a factor in the deaths of the wrestler and his family.

Media speculation pinning the murders on ‘roid rage is unwarranted and misleading, doctors say.

"There's no consensus or proof that anabolic steroid use can lead to this type of violence," Bailes said. "The concept of ‘roid rage is rather uncertain."

Benoit reportedly strangled his wife on a Friday evening with a cord. Investigators say she had bruises on her back and stomach consistent with Benoit pressing a knee into her back while pulling on the cord. The following day, he likely gave his son Xanax, an anti-anxiety drug, before putting him in a chokehold. Benoit left Bibles by both bodies.

Experts say those actions, which appear systematic and spread over a two-to-three day period, are inconsistent with what is perceived as ‘roid rage, or brief, manic bouts of aggression.

Bailes has made several national appearances since Wednesday with the wrestler's father, Michael Benoit. They are appearing on Larry King Live tonight on CNN.

Link, may not work after 24hrs.

[Masami von Weizegger]

Of course, wrestlers don't really get hurt right? Lame-ass man ballet for fruits.

While I can't feel that this, in any way, absolves Chris Benoit of any responsibility for his double murders, it does raise yet more questions about the safety of professional wrestling, even without the traditional bogeyman of steroids and other drugs.

Things have become safe, at least in the WWE, thanks to what's dubbed "safe-style", especially compared to the mid to late 90's boom period, but concussions are still regarded as just something that happens.

Chair shots and wrestling moves that impact the head, as premeditated by both wrestlers though they may be, are highly frequent and cause the majority of the damage.

WWE gave a neutral response to these results. To be honest, they'd probably would have preferred to be steroid-related. You can take actions against drug-use without impacting business too deeply but banning anything that involves the skull in pro wrestling will be a lot harder.

[Lord Pounder]

One of Benoits finishers was a diving head butt that he usually missed. However I find the whole review suspect. Christopher Nowinski is still an employee of WWE. So Benoit has the brain of an 85 year old. How man 85 year olds choak out their family then hang themselves. More happened than anyone will ever know.

[Masami von Weizegger]

One of Benoits finishers was a diving head butt that he usually missed. However I find the whole review suspect. Christopher Nowinski is still an employee of WWE. So Benoit has the brain of an 85 year old. How man 85 year olds choak out their family then hang themselves. More happened than anyone will ever know.

Why suspect? The review also corroborates tests done on the brain of Andre Waters and other professional sports players who have died in similar circumstances.

I'm no neurologist but "resembled the brain of an 85-year-old Alzheimer's patient" does not indicate to me that his brain literally functioned in the same way. It seems to me that it's a comparison. If these test are correct, Chris Benoit most likely suffered from dementia pugilistica (chronic traumatic encephalopathy).

What positive spin is there for WWE that makes this suspect? WWE can pass the buck for steroids a lot easier than it can for concussions and brain damaged occurred by doing their job, as told, in their own work environment.

[NeoGoomba]

Slightly off-topic, yet related, is that this issue of repeat concussions has become a rather hot topic with the retired NFL players association (I forget their title) vs. the NFL itself, as more and more retired players are being diagnosed with clinical depression as well as brain damage with unknown (immediate) consequences.

It makes me wonder what the condiiton of retired NHL players are, or even extreme cases of NFL players, guys like Troy Aikman who suffered something like 11-12 concussions before he called it quits.

[Solauren]

This doesn't surprise me in the least.

Beniot made a career out of massive head-shots in one way or another, from his flying headbutt finisher, to the chairshots and dives he took in ECW, to some of the stunts he pulled in the WWE.

I mean, come on, he'd dive between the second and third ropes at a wrestler on the outside in a spot that was set up so he'd miss and ram into the barricade.

That's got to cause brain damage.

Hell, the effects of all that had been apparent for some time. If you see tapes of Beniot when he was younger, he'd do the flying headbutt, and hit or miss, okay, the match would go on. For the last few years or so, he'd been grabbing at his forehead as if he was concerned it was bleeding or something.

I'm sure he could have taken the occasional bump to the head without a lot of problem, but he took alot of head-bumbs without protecting himself.

Gotta wonder what some other WWE superstars brains look like (no jokes please), from some of the headshots they've taken. i.e Matt and Jeff Hardy (victims of numerous dual-chair headshots, not to mention there wrestling style), Rob Van Dam and Jerry Lynn (they used to kick chairs into each others chairs on a weekly basis, multiple times a match, over the course of 18 months), not to mention Sabu (then again, his entire internal antomy must look like hamburger.)

[Broomstick]

How man 85 year olds choak out their family then hang themselves.

Probably more than you think.

Violent outbursts are a known element of dementia. It doesn't affect everyone suffering from dementia or brain damage, but it does show up in a significant slice of the crowd.

For that matter, my husband was assaulted by his 71 year mother less than a month ago, she clawed his face bloody and the cops came out on a domestic call to the house. She didn't cause more damage because she's 105 lbs soaking wet and suffering from terminal heart and lung problems as well as Parkinson's and diabetes. She didn't hurt him worse because was wasn't able to do more.

Chris Benoit, on the other hand, had extensive brain damage AND was a physically fit, very strong man. He was able to perpetrate greater violence.

[Sriad]

How man 85 year olds choak out their family then hang themselves.

Probably more than you think.

Violent outbursts are a known element of dementia. It doesn't affect everyone suffering from dementia or brain damage, but it does show up in a significant slice of the crowd.

For that matter, my husband was assaulted by his 71 year mother less than a month ago, she clawed his face bloody and the cops came out on a domestic call to the house. She didn't cause more damage because she's 105 lbs soaking wet and suffering from terminal heart and lung problems as well as Parkinson's and diabetes. She didn't hurt him worse because was wasn't able to do more.

Chris Benoit, on the other hand, had extensive brain damage AND was a physically fit, very strong man. He was able to perpetrate greater violence.

As so often happens, Broomstick beats someone to the point.

Brain damage leading to violent outbursts and radical behavioral changes is not a rare phenomena; a number of studies have found links between brain damage and increased aggression ( http://neuro.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/c ... l/15/2/155 ) and other significant behavioral and personality changes.

As far as I'm concerned, this DOES lighten the load of guilt on Benoit, but puts some on the WWF. Maybe there'll be rather more chair-to-body moves in the future.

As to old people killing themselves...

Suicide and the Elderly

Approximately every 83 minutes, one adult 65 years of age or older commits suicide in the United States. The suicide rate for this general age group rose by 9% between 1980 and 1992. During that period, there were 74,675 suicides by elderly people. In 1993, suicide rates ranged from 15 per 100,000 population, among persons 65 to 69 years old, to 24 per 100,000 population for persons 80 to 85 years of age, a rate that is double the overall US rate. White males are at nearly 10 times the risk for suicide as nonwhite males across the age spectrum.

White men over 80 years old are at the greatest risk of all age, gender, and racial groups. The suicide rate for this group is six times the current overall rate and three times the rate of African-American males over 80 years old. This high rate among while males over 80 is important because the very elderly age group (85 years and older) is the fastest growing sub-population of elderly adults in the United States.

Older adults tend to use highly lethal means to commit suicide. In 1988, nearly 8 out of 10 suicides committed by men 65 years and above were done so with a firearm. Of the 6363 elderly adults who committee suicide in 1988, for example, 67% (4264) used firearms to end their lives. Hanging and poisoning were the second and third leading causes of suicide in this group.

[LadyTevar]

As to old people killing themselves...

Suicide and the Elderly

Approximately every 83 minutes, one adult 65 years of age or older commits suicide in the United States. The suicide rate for this general age group rose by 9% between 1980 and 1992. During that period, there were 74,675 suicides by elderly people. In 1993, suicide rates ranged from 15 per 100,000 population, among persons 65 to 69 years old, to 24 per 100,000 population for persons 80 to 85 years of age, a rate that is double the overall US rate. White males are at nearly 10 times the risk for suicide as nonwhite males across the age spectrum.

White men over 80 years old are at the greatest risk of all age, gender, and racial groups. The suicide rate for this group is six times the current overall rate and three times the rate of African-American males over 80 years old. This high rate among while males over 80 is important because the very elderly age group (85 years and older) is the fastest growing sub-population of elderly adults in the United States.

Older adults tend to use highly lethal means to commit suicide. In 1988, nearly 8 out of 10 suicides committed by men 65 years and above were done so with a firearm. Of the 6363 elderly adults who committee suicide in 1988, for example, 67% (4264) used firearms to end their lives. Hanging and poisoning were the second and third leading causes of suicide in this group.

I signed two death certificates this week, both men over the age of 80, both suicides. One went out to a field and shot himself, the other hung himself on his back porch. The one who shot himself was a Widower.

[aerius]

It makes me wonder what the condiiton of retired NHL players are, or even extreme cases of NFL players, guys like Troy Aikman who suffered something like 11-12 concussions before he called it quits.

It's not too bad for NHL players since most of them retire by the time they get 3-4 concussions, after a couple concussions teams are rather reluctant to sign players since they know there's a good chance the next one will be career ending. Also, unlike the NFL where players will often play through concussions and then hit the field again the next week, the NHL will make players sit out until they have medical clearance to play again.

[NeoGoomba]

It's not too bad for NHL players since most of them retire by the time they get 3-4 concussions, after a couple concussions teams are rather reluctant to sign players since they know there's a good chance the next one will be career ending. Also, unlike the NFL where players will often play through concussions and then hit the field again the next week, the NHL will make players sit out until they have medical clearance to play again.

Thanks for the info aerius, I never realized how regulated the NHL was. I don't think we'll see something like that taking place within the NFL unless there is major public outcry, or the players themselves take a stand on it. Too much money is tied into only 16 games to allow such prudence, sadly.

[Temjin]

Just an anecdote.

My mother used to work in a nursing home, taking care of the residents. Every day she come home home with new bruises. Giving them a bath or just changing the sheets would mean going through an attempted beating with some patients.

Hell, my mother quit her job there and now works at the Wal-Mart jewelery counter, and she enjoys it so much better there. That's right, she working at fucking Wal-Mart more than working in a nursing home.

The mental image of Benoit with a mind of one of those patients is a scary thought. Especially when you consider how many wrestlers are out there going through the same thing.

[Solauren]

The number going through that is much higher then you may think.

Consider; I've seen tapes of Beniot's early career in Japan. (Along with several other wrestlers that have gone on to be big stars). What they put there bodies through is much worse then American or even European wrestling. It's closer to the original ECW in it's prime, with the chairshots and table smashing replaced with suicide dives and the like.

It's not a nice thing to think about.

[The Yosemite Bear]

How man 85 year olds choak out their family then hang themselves.

Probably more than you think.

Violent outbursts are a known element of dementia. It doesn't affect everyone suffering from dementia or brain damage, but it does show up in a significant slice of the crowd.

For that matter, my husband was assaulted by his 71 year mother less than a month ago, she clawed his face bloody and the cops came out on a domestic call to the house. She didn't cause more damage because she's 105 lbs soaking wet and suffering from terminal heart and lung problems as well as Parkinson's and diabetes. She didn't hurt him worse because was wasn't able to do more.

Chris Benoit, on the other hand, had extensive brain damage AND was a physically fit, very strong man. He was able to perpetrate greater violence.

I still remember getting assualted by that former Los Alamos scientist because she thought my shadow was a japanese ghost out to kill her in revenge.

[Napoleon the Clown]

The only thing the WWE can say to try and lessen their guilt in the public's eyes is by claiming Benoit did the moves wrong, that his head was never supposed to strike hard enough to hurt him. Most likely, they'll remain silent and try ignoring this.


I wonder if maybe the WWE will start to give check-ups to their wrestlers to try and track anything like what happened to Benoit. MRIs are expensive as all hell but I'm pretty sure they are pulling in enough money to MRI all the wrestlers and probably most of the janitors...

[Temjin]

I wonder if maybe the WWE will start to give check-ups to their wrestlers to try and track anything like what happened to Benoit. MRIs are expensive as all hell but I'm pretty sure they are pulling in enough money to MRI all the wrestlers and probably most of the janitors...

Heh. Hehehe. Right...

You really think they'll start springing for MRIs? They probably won't even consider it. What happens if they were to test [Insert Famous Pro Wrestler Here] and it looked exactly the same as Benoit's? Retire him?

No. They'll do the normal Capitalism thing and bury their heads in the sand and hope it all goes away.

[Napoleon the Clown]

Sorry, for a minute there I was overcome with optimism.

[Edward Yee]

A bit late I guess, but Internet talk on the subject (as well as re: steroids) has looked at wrestling's schedules -- or at least, how WWE doesn't really make for time off.

[Masami von Weizegger]

People have known about the common pro wrestler schedule for years and a lot of wrestlers like to openly talk about the insane work and travel schedule as they feel it's a "weapon" to be used against those who deride their job as soft.

[Big Orange]

Professional boxers are infamous for receiving brain trauma and wrestlers getting the same injuries is not at all surprising. Benoit receiving a serious brain injury then going on a murderous rampage reminds of a recorded incident of a railway worker who had a steel nail impaled into his frontal lobe. He somehow survived that injury, but right afterwards his whole base personality was changed in a significant and negative way.

[Turin]

Benoit receiving a serious brain injury then going on a murderous rampage reminds of a recorded incident of a railway worker who had a steel nail impaled into his frontal lobe. He somehow survived that injury, but right afterwards his whole base personality was changed in a significant and negative way.

Phineas Gage. As told to every college student in the US who has to take Psych 101 as one of their general studies requirements, his case represented a big step forward in the understanding of the brain's affect on personality.

[Edward Yee]

People have known about the common pro wrestler schedule for years and a lot of wrestlers like to openly talk about the insane work and travel schedule as they feel it's a "weapon" to be used against those who deride their job as soft.

Which is kind of ironic, considering how much it could be part of the problem, in the sense of laying the foundation for the other problems.

Then again, WWE's primacy in American wrestling seems to make its schedule (about 300 days a year, the saying goes?) most visible. In contrast in Japan, Pro Wrestling NOAH's schedule seems to have monthly [or over the course of two months] tours running about two weeks at a time, then time off until the next tour, while over here Ring of Honor tends to run two consecutive shows each on two weekends a month, usually at the beginning, middle or end of the month.

[Edward Yee]

And now (if to be believed) Chris Benoit's diary correlates, according to WSB-TV Atlanta.

His father's attorney believes the wrestler's writings show signs of dementia and depression years before Benoit killed his wife, child and himself.

The photocopied first page of the diary is inscribed, 'To Christopher from Nancy,' with the date November 25, 2005.

All the handwritten entries are addressed to Eddie Guerrero, a close wrestling friend of Benoit's, who died in 2005 of an enlarged heart.

"He was upset, very upset, about Eddie's death. He says in a number of places how much he loved Eddie and what dear friends they were. He also says at one point that, 'I will be with you soon,' so it appears as though he was having some thoughts about his own mortality," said Carry Ichter, Benoit's father's attorney.

The entries also speak of Benoit's love and admiration for his wife, Nancy, and son, Daniel -- both of whom he killed in the weekend of June 22.

He spoke of the exhaustion, drudgery and loneliness of the road, but did not describe abusing drugs.

"It's plain that he was depressed. It's plain that he was beginning to exhibit some of the signs of the dementia that's associated with the brain injuries he sustained because he talks in there about not being able to remember things," said Ichter. "Chris, at the end had become intensely paranoid, to the point that he would not take the same route to the airport on a consistent basis, to the point that he would not allow the family outside of the house."

The diary was found in the trash outside Benoit's Fayetteville home shortly after the deaths.

Video here.

[Solauren]

I can believe it.

Except in extreme circumstances, that kind of culmulative damage is going to cause slow, gradual personality changes.

Also, I can imagine, considering how long he knew Eddie G, his death probably pushed him right over the cliff, and he was evidently hanging on by a hair.

[Big Orange]

Phineas Gage. As told to every college student in the US who has to take Psych 101 as one of their general studies requirements, his case represented a big step forward in the understanding of the brain's affect on personality.

Perhaps OJ Simpson during his American "football" career suffered brain trauma as well, affecting his brain chemestry in a subtle but highly detrimental way.