New Blood Test to Diagnose Concussions Quickly and Accurately

Diagnosing a concussion accurately is a challenge for healthcare providers, mainly because they have to depend on self-reported symptoms or imaging tools that aren't particularly sensitive to this kind of brain injury. While CT scans can identify bleeding in the brain post-concussion, most concussions don't actually result in such bleeding. Now, new research has identified specific proteins, or biomarkers, in the blood that can help diagnose concussions more efficiently and accurately, bringing a global blood test for concussion one step closer.

In a study led by Monash University (Victoria, Australia), researchers examining four protein biomarkers discovered that levels of three proteins in the blood of patients below 50 years who presented to an ED within six hours of injury could help classify concussion accurately. These proteins—interleukin 6 (IL-6), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCH-L1)—each reveal different aspects of the biology of brain trauma. The measurement of the inflammatory biomarker, IL-6, alongside GFAP and UCH-L1 - two proteins exclusive to the brain – demonstrated extremely high sensitivity and specificity in distinguishing between individuals with and without concussion. Additionally, the study also found elevated NfL levels in the blood of patients a week after the concussion and had diagnostic properties as good as those of the acute markers. According to the researchers, this suggests that NfL could be valuable for diagnosing concussions when assessments were delayed.

Should further research corroborate these findings and the biomarkers receive regulatory approval in Australia, it could revolutionize the diagnosis of concussion for both clinicians and patients, facilitating earlier intervention. Once available, a blood test using these biomarkers could enhance the diagnostic accuracy following incidents like accidents or sports-related collisions. While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has already approved GFAP and UCH-L1 for predicting brain bleeding in CT scans, this would be a significant addition given that most concussions don't result in bleeding.

“Within the ED, we believe the test might prove useful in providing certainty in difficult-to-assess cases, especially when a patient may be unwilling or unable to communicate their symptoms,” said co-study lead and Monash University Professor Biswadev Mitra.

“Given concussion remains a clinical diagnosis, the best clinical assessments and patient care are likely in the ED setting. Nevertheless, there is potential for this test to be applied beyond the hospital setting in the near future,” added study lead and Monash Trauma Group Principal Investigator Dr. Stuart McDonald.

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