Dr. Julian Bailes, a NorthShore neurosurgeon, said they believe they can now detect CTE in living people.

In a paper published last week in the journal Neurosurgery, Bailes and other researchers reported that one of the former players who had undergone a scan while he was alive, had his brain examined after he died the tissue revealed he had been suffering from CTE.

The condition is associated with repetitive head trauma and results in dementia like symptoms.

Bailes said it could be a key step in finding a way to help people with the condition.