Blood tests detect concussion within six hours of injury
Researchers have found a simple way to confirm concussion based on three blood markers.Accurately diagnosing a concussion, or mild brain injury, is often a difficult task because the signs and symptoms associated with it can be subtle. There is no obvious visible injury and, unless there has been a brain hemorrhage, brain imaging will show nothing in most cases.
A team of researchers led by Monash University found that three proteins in the blood act as specific biomarkers that occur after a concussion. They are detectable in blood tests within six hours of the injury.
Researchers studied blood chemistry in 118 participants, 74 of whom had previously suffered a concussion and 44 of whom acted as a control group. The concussion patients reported the duration of memory loss immediately after the injury and were tested for intellectual functioning, memory performance and speed. Blood was drawn to test plasma protein levels less than six hours after the injury and seven days after the injury.
The researchers found that blood levels of three proteins - interleukin-6 (IL-6), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase-L1 (UCH-L1) - were associated with the trauma experienced. In people under the age of 50 within 6 hours of injury, they uniquely identify concussion.
"We believe that in the emergency department, this test can be useful to provide reassurance in difficult to assess cases, especially when the patient is unwilling or unable to report their symptoms. For example, these could be cases of domestic violence where the test would reveal a mild head injury that might otherwise go undetected," Biswadev Mitra, co-author of the study.