(AP) -- An examination of Junior Seau's brain has revealed that the former linebacker had a degenerative brain disease when he committed suicide last May.

The National Institutes of Health tells The Associated Press that an NIH study found abnormalities consistent with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a condition linked to repetitive head injuries. Seau joins a list of several dozen football players who had CTE.

The NIH conducted a study of three unidentified brains, one of which was Seau's. It said the findings were similar to autopsies of people "with exposure to repetitive head injury."

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