Corridor of fame quarterback Brett Favre says he has been recognized with Parkinson’s

Corridor of Fame quarterback Brett Favre mentioned throughout a congressional listening to on Tuesday that he has been recognized with Parkinson’s illness.

Favre mentioned on the listening to on welfare accountability that he misplaced his funding in an organization he believed was growing a breakthrough concussion drug.

“Whereas it’s too late for me – as a result of I’ve not too long ago been recognized with Parkinson’s – that is additionally a trigger expensive to my coronary heart,” he mentioned.

Favre performed 20 seasons within the NFL, with most of his profession spent with the Inexperienced Bay Packers, with whom he received the Tremendous Bowl in 1997. The 54-year-old, who retired from soccer after the 2010 season, has mentioned he could have suffered greater than 1,000 concussions throughout his enjoying profession.

“When you could have ringing of the ears, seeing stars, that’s a concussion,” Favre informed the Immediately present in 2018. “And if that could be a concussion, I’ve had tons of, possibly hundreds, all through my profession, which is horrifying.”

Parkinson’s, a degenerative neurological illness that impacts motion and may trigger tremors, speech issues and poor steadiness, is linked with concussions. In response to a research printed in Household Drugs and Neighborhood Well being Journal in 2020, a single concussion can improve the probabilities of Parkinson’s by 57%. Concussions are additionally linked to different situations akin to CTE. CTE, which might solely be definitively recognized at post-mortem, is a neurodegenerative situation linked to repeated head traumas. Signs skilled throughout life embody cognitive impairment, impulsive behaviour, melancholy, suicidal ideas, short-term reminiscence loss and emotional instability.

Favre is one among a number of defendants named in a civil swimsuit by Mississippi’s Division of Human Providers in 2022, alleging the misuse of welfare funds earmarked for the state’s neediest households. He has by no means been accused of crimes associated to the funds.