Organ belonging to the former boxer, who died this Thursday (24), will help in research into the so-called “boxer’s dementia”

The brain of former boxer Maguila, who died this Thursday afternoon (24), will be donated for studies on the so-called “boxer’s dementia” at the University of São Paulo (USP). Adilson dos Santos, the fighter’s given name, had been living with the degenerative disease for years, a consequence of repeated impacts to the head in sports such as boxing, rugby and football.

In 2018, the former boxer, with his family’s consent, agreed to donate the organ to the university team. The act could help prevent the disease that mainly affects athletes in their sport. The information was released by the newspaper O Globo.

Maguila, born in Aracaju, had been hospitalized with the disease since 2017 at a clinic in Itu, in the interior of São Paulo, and died at the age of 66.

The degenerative disease called “boxer’s dementia” has the official name chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Caused by impacts to the head during sports, the condition is considered incurable.

For a long time, the disease has been confused with Alzheimer’s disease, due to similar symptoms. However, unlike Alzheimer’s, CTE has behavioral symptoms and has a better prognosis, with a longer lifespan.

In addition to cognitive loss, the disease is associated with behavioral disorders, such as episodes of depression, violence and suicide.

Maguila will not be the first athlete to have his brain studied by the USP group. Defender Bellini, world champion in 1958, and, more recently, boxer Éder Jofre, who died in 2022, aged 85, also donated the organ for research. The study is considered fundamental to create prevention measures.

There is still a lot of difficulty in making an accurate diagnosis and the evolution of the case, as, currently, the evaluation is only done through research on the athlete’s brain after death.