Blood Test for Concussion Damage

A blood test that could detect the amount of damage to the brain, post concussion, is now being investigated with promising results.

Dr. Linda Papa of Montreal, is an emergency physician, currently holding the director of research position at the Orlando Regional Medical Center, Florida. She is pursuing this new testing method, which could lead to greater precision in the diagnosis of concussion severity and help inform the critical ´return to play´ decision made by coaches and team medical staff.

The current method of concussion damage assessment is generally with a Computed Tomography (CT) scan, however the detection of micro bleeding can go undetected using this method and further damage or ´second impact syndrome´ can occur. Accurate information is needed to inform coaches and athletes on the best course of action post concussion. The blood test measures the amount of protein that has leaked in the blood stream from damage to the brain barrier due to head trauma. Dr. Papa´s study compared brain injured subjects to subjects with non-head trauma injuries and a control group. The subjects with brain injuries showed higher blood protein levels than the other two groups. Further research is needed to validate these findings but it offer a positive step in concussion diagnosis and subsequent ´return to game´ protocol.