Aaron Hernandez lawyer: Brain showed 'severe' case of CTE

<p>The brain of former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez will be donated to research.</p><p>Massachusetts officials&nbsp;<a href="http://worcesterda.com/hernandez-prison-death-ruled-suicide/" target="_blank">announced Thursday</a>&nbsp;Hernandez&#39;s brain will be released to Boston University&#39;s CTE Center for further examination.</p><p><a href="https://www.bu.edu/cte/about/what-is-cte/" target="_blank">The center</a>&nbsp;studies Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease that&#39;s believed to be caused by repeated hits to the head, like those sustained by football players.</p><p>Symptoms of the condition include memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, impulse control problems, aggression, depression and progressive dementia.</p><p><b>SEE MORE: <a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/aaron-hernandez-dead-after-suicide-in-prison/">Aaron Hernandez Dead After Suicide In Prison</a></b></p><p>The decision came shortly after authorities ruled Hernandez&#39;s death a suicide. He was found unresponsive in his prison cell Wednesday morning.</p><p>Hernandez had been serving a life sentence after being convicted of first-degree murder back in 2015. Less than a week before his death, he was acquitted in a separate double-murder trial.</p><p>There had been some disagreement over who should have custody of Hernandez&#39;s brain.</p><p><a href="http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2017/04/medical_examiner_denies_illega.html" target="_blank">Earlier on Thursday</a>, the Hernandez family&#39;s attorney accused authorities of &quot;illegally&quot; withholding the brain from researchers. But the medical examiner&#39;s office said it wanted to complete its investigation into the death before releasing it.</p><hr><b>Trending stories at <a href="http://www.newsy.com">Newsy.com</a></b><ul class="inline-related-links"><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/nfl-s-new-england-patriots-criticize-new-york-times-tweet/">New England Patriots Call Out The New York Times&#039; Lack Of Context</a></li><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/mlb-players-launch-social-media-app-infield-chatter/">Major League Baseball Players Get Social With &#039;Infield Chatter&#039; App</a></li><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/some-nfl-super-bowl-patriots-to-miss-trump-white-house-visit/">Some NFL Champs Won&#039;t Meet The President, But They&#039;re Not The First</a></li></ul>