Former NFL player Vincent Jackson died due
to “chronic alcohol use”, an autopsy report confirmed on Thursday.

The Hillsborough County, Florida, medical
examiner’s report, released this week, showed that Jackson’s death in February
was considered “natural” and the cause was listed as “chronic
alcohol use.”

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Jackson, who was 38 when he died earlier
this year, played for the then-San Diego Chargers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
during his career. He was found to have Stage 2 CTE, as CNN reported last week.

The NFL player was found dead in a hotel
room on February 15 in Brandon, Florida, with no apparent signs of trauma,
officials said at the time. His family had reported him missing less than a
week prior, CNN reported.

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In the months leading up to his death, the
former Buccaneers and Chargers wide receiver suffered from depression,
progressive memory loss, mood swings, paranoia and extreme social isolation,
all considered to be symptoms of CTE.

The autopsy report revealed that Jackson
suffered from alcoholic cardiomyopathy, hepatic steatosis and fibrosis,
esophageal varices, ascites, jaundice, remote pancreatitis, renal failure and
hyponatremia dehydration, cardiovascular disease, and intoxication by ethyl
alcohol — all consistent with chronic alcohol use. The medical examiner found
that he had a blood alcohol content of 0.28%.

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“Vincent Jackson was a brilliant,
disciplined, gentle giant whose life began to change in his mid-30s. He became
depressed, with progressive memory loss, problem solving difficulties,
paranoia, and eventually extreme social isolation,” said Dr Ann McKee,
chief of neuropathology for the VA Boston Healthcare System and director of the
BU CTE Center and VA-BU-CLF Brain Bank.

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CTE is a progressive degenerative brain
disease caused by repetitive head trauma, according to the Concussion Legacy
Foundation. Stage 2 CTE, which can only be diagnosed through an autopsy, is
associated with behavioural symptoms like aggression, impulsivity, depression,
anxiety, paranoia, substance abuse, and suicidal ideation, along with
progressive cognitive symptoms, according to the foundation.