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12-year hall of fame career or during his four seasons in college, but he's one of nine former nfl players who have had a new brain scan that may help identify chronic traumatic encephalopathy or cte, a brain disease caused by head trauma linked to dementia and depression. dorsett says he's tested positive for symptoms consistent with cte. previously, the only way to find out if someone had cte was after their death, with an autopsy on the brain. now -- >> this test involves a tracer which is injected into a vein and then it will bind to these abnormal proteins that we see in cte so if you hav...

My short temperedness, i'm very short tempered. it gets worse. >> at his lowest moments, dorsett says he has thought about suicide. >> yeah, i've thought about crazy stuff, sort of like, why do i need to keep continue going through this. i mean, i'm too -- too smart of a person, i like to think, to take my life, but it's crossed my mind. >> reporter: neurosurgen julian bales is part of a medical team that says it's devised a brain scan to identify signs of cte in a living person. dorsett is one of nine retired nfl players to take the test conducted at ucla. results are in for eight and all hav...

In the deaths of former nfl players dave duerson, junior seau and others. but some say the nfl brushed aside early key research. >> each one of those steps from 2005 through 2009 was met with a response from the nfl that this evidence did not really mean anything. one of the doctors on the lead committee called an important study virtually worthless, that's a direct quote. >> reporter: but the nfl changed and in late 2009, acknowledged some of the lingering effects from head injuries. it also recently settled a lawsuit by thousands of players, former players, for $765 million. contacted by cnn...

What is more cloer though, is the effect of marijuana on the young brain. >> what we think is a big difference in people who begin to smoke prior to age 16 and those who smoke after ang 16. what we call early versus later onset. >> the brain scan shows the white matter, highways that help the brain communicate from one point to another, are impaired, in those who start smoking early. >> there is underlined white matter. >> that is your concern, sounds like. that those highways, white matter highways, are just more disru disrupted in people who smoke. >> that's not surprising, given what we kno...

People who ask why? >> more than anything it's -- why not? i have this formerly death sentence which is being extended out. as long as i am feeling well, i might as well dance. if anybody has even the slightest inspiration or push toward life, while we're living, mission accomplished. >> reporter: another mission of hers, to beat the cancer. >> each two-month increment, the brain scan has looked better. >> reporter: while doctors say the potential for bone weakness and exhaustion are possible concerns, they say many patients get a tremendous psychological boost from physical activity. >> i'm l...