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The first case of its kind in New Zealand, a former Super Rugby player has been diagnosed post-death with a degenerative brain disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy.Â
Billy Guyton played for the Blues, Hurricanes, and Crusaders, but died in a suspected suicide aged 33.Â
An examination of his brain by the Neurological Foundation's Brain Bank has now identified he had stage 2 CTE. Â
Auckland University neuroscientist Helen Murray told Mike Hosking that CTE is caused by the repetitive accumulation of head impacts. Â
She says it's not necessarily the number of concussions but the number of impacts, and that might not have generated any symptoms.Â
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