With the kind of punishment Gatti took in his many exciting fights, one wonders if he wasn't another victim of accumulated brain injury. Hockey and Football Players have lately been the subject of speculation about accumulated brain trauma and untimely deaths. The brains of a number of them have been donated for study by neurologists whose conclusions include, "...the long-term effects of concussions, using words like "depression" and "early onset of dementia."
What is different from thier injuries and the repeated battering Arturo and other exciting fighters like him endure in order to get a win?
Source:
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/f/football/head_injuries/index.html
Concussions:
Contrary to popular belief, a concussion is not a bruise to the brain caused by hitting a hard surface. Indeed, no physical swelling or bleeding is usually seen on radiological scans. The injury generally occurs when the head either accelerates rapidly and then is stopped, or is spun rapidly.
This violent shaking causes the brain cells to become depolarized and fire all their neurotransmitters at once in an unhealthy cascade, flooding the brain with chemicals and deadening certain receptors linked to learning and memory. The results often include confusion, blurred vision, memory loss, nausea and, sometimes, unconsciousness.
Neurologists say once a person suffers a concussion, he is as much as four times more likely to sustain a second one. Moreover, after several concussions, it takes less of a blow to cause the injury and requires more time to recover.
Those who had had concussions reported more problems with memory, concentration, speech impediments, headaches and other neurological problems than those who had not, the survey found.
Several doctors testified to links they have found between sports head trauma and later cognitive degeneration. Dr. Ann McKee, who has studied the brains of football players after death, testified that she believed the connection was clear and called for immediate changes to the game and concussion treatment.
In July 2010, the N.F.L. asserted greater risks of head injury and toughened warnings by producing a poster that bluntly alerts its players to the long-term effects of concussions, using words like "depression" and "early onset of dementia."
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Arturo Gatti's suicidal past revealed - Canada - CBC News:
"Several friends of the former boxer, who was nicknamed Thunder, say Gatti partied as hard as he fought inside the ring and lived a troubled life long before his death.
"He lived in go-go bars," said Costa. "His life had no structure whatsoever. He would get up, he would say his breakfast was three Percocets and then he would go to these bars."
Gatti had overdosed on painkillers, engaged in numerous brawls with strangers and had run-ins with police. He was arrested for driving under the influence in three states and his driver's licence was cancelled for 10 years."
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