NRL legend Paul Green had an advanced brain disease at the time of his death, doctors have revealed. Check out what happened to him.
Paul Green : Brain disease | What happened to
Australian professional rugby league football Paul Green has passed away. Family and friends are still trying to come to terms with the fact that Paul Green is no more.
He took his own life in his home in Wynnum and was found unresponsive by the police. However, there was no foul play in his death, and police said, according to reports.
Green has been a known figure across the Rugby fraternity worldwide and has also represented Australia twice in the Super League period. He has been honored by the State of Origin Coach by Queensland.
He has appeared in more than 100 NRL games, starting with Cronulla Sharks in 1994 and then shifting to North Queensland Cowboys in 1999.
Paul Green brain disease
NRL legend Paul Green had an advanced brain disease at the time of his death, doctors have revealed, as his heartbroken family say the diagnosis has given them some ‘peace’.
Green, who was found dead at his home in Brisbane on August 11 after taking his own life, had been suffering from an advanced form of CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy).
The shocking diagnosis only came after his widow Amanda agreed to donate her 49-year-old husband’s brain.
She gave permission for Professor Michael Buckland from the Australian Sports Brain Bank to study Green’s brain and last week received a call with the results, The Australian reports.
Professor Buckland said he had discovered one of the most ‘severe forms of pure CTE’ he had seen in Green’s brain – a condition that can only be confirmed post-mortem.
Experts believe CTE, a term used to describe brain degeneration, can cause impulsive behaviour, difficulty thinking and severe mood problems.
Initial symptoms can include confusion, disorientation and headaches with more progressive side-effects including dementia, vertigo and tremors.
Ms Green said the diagnosis has given her daughter Emerson, 13, and son Jed, 10, some ‘peace’ and ‘relief’.
What happened to
A post-mortem following the death of Paul Green has revealed the former NRL player and coach suffered from one of most “severe forms” of pure Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) a neuropathologist professor has ever seen.
It comes as Amanda Green vowed to “shine a light” on her late husband’s diagnosis, as well as raise awareness around the need for greater support for coaches and their families.
The rugby league world was left shocked in August when it emerged Green had been found dead, aged 49, in his Brisbane home.
Speaking expansively to The Australian, Amanda Green said her husband the night before his passing was weighing up a full-time “corporate” career or taking a Dolphins assistant coaching role under the legendary Wayne Bennett.
Ms Green said the next morning she saw her sleepy partner in bed – “I’m going to do a quick class, I’ll see you when I get home, get yourself going,” she said to him – before driving to a pilates class.
When she returned, Green was dead.