( CNN ) -- The disease that carves an insidious path through the brain seems to be doing the same through sports . Chronic traumatic encephalopathy , the degenerative brain disease associated with concussions , has been identified in both a soccer and a rugby player , according to a review in the journal Acta Neuropathologica . The brain tissue of people found to have CTE displays an abnormal build-up of tau -- a protein that , when it spills out of cells , can choke off , or disable , neural pathways controlling things like memory , judgment and fear . CTE can be diagnosed only after death . According to Dr. Ann McKee , a neuropathologist who has examined dozens of brains found to have CTE , the brain of the soccer player -- Patrick Grange -- displayed diffuse disease . `` There was very severe degeneration of the frontal lobes with widespread tau pathology in the frontal , temporal and parietal lobes , '' McKee , director of neuropathology at the Bedford VA Medical Center , said in an e-mail . `` He is one of the youngest players to have shown this much disease . '' Former NFLer : 'Your mind just goes crazy ' Grange played with the Chicago Fire Reserve MLS team and the Albuquerque Asylum semi-pro team , according to his obituary . He died in 2012 at 29 after being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , a rare , incurable neurodegenerative disease . About 13 % of the 103 CTE cases uncovered by McKee and colleagues also showed evidence of progressive motor neuron disease . `` ( Grange ) had no known genetic predisposition for ALS , '' said McKee , professor of neurology and pathology at the Boston University School of Medicine . `` And no family members have been diagnosed with ALS . '' An autopsy showed that Grange had Stage 2 CTE with motor neuron disease , according to a statement from Boston University . His case is interesting because it raises questions about the relationship between heading the ball and CTE . `` The fact that Patrick Grange was a prolific header is important , '' Chris Nowinski , co-founder and executive director of the Sports Legacy Institute , said in an e-mail . `` We need a larger discussion around at what age we introduce headers , and how we set limits to exposure once it is introduced . '' Heading would seem to be innocuous compared with the brutal hits that can be dealt in a football or hockey game , but the damage , according to studies , can add up . Headers in soccer are associated with microstructural damage to brain tissue and memory problems ; and an Italian study linked them with ALS . Similarly , researchers found Australian rugby union player Barry `` Tizza '' Taylor died in 2013 of complications of severe CTE with dementia at age 77 . Taylor played for 19 years in amateur and senior leagues before becoming a coach , according to Boston University . `` Cognitive problems , memory loss , attention difficulties and executive dysfunction were first noted in his mid-50s , followed by depression and anxiety , worsening explosivity and impulsivity , '' the statement said . By his mid-60s , the statement said , Taylor was `` physically and verbally abusive '' and `` paranoid . '' Tony Dorsett : ' I 'm going to beat this ' CTE is most commonly associated with football and boxing , but the disease has been found in the brain tissue of hockey players , wrestlers and , recently , in a Major League Baseball player . With the most recent findings , it would seem that virtually no sport is immune .
A new study identifies CTE in soccer and rugby players . CTE can develop from repeated blows to the head . The research raises questions about `` heading '' in soccer .