Blood test could detect concussion

A simple blood test can detect whether someone has suffered a concussion, scientists have said.

Researchers from Orlando Health in Florida detected a biomarker released by the brain during injury.

They found the biomarker can stay in the bloodstream for up to a week — which means patients who suffer delayed symptoms of concussion could easily be identified.

“Symptoms of a concussion, or a mild to moderate traumatic brain injury, can be subtle and are often delayed, in many cases by several days,” said Linda Papa, lead author of the study.

“This could provide doctors with an important tool for simply and accurately diagnosing those patients, particularly children, and making sure they are treated properly.

“If patients are not diagnosed properly and treated appropriately, it could lead to long-term problems. This test could take the guesswork out of making a diagnosis by allowing doctors to simply look for a specific biomarker in the blood.”

The study, published in the journal Jama Neurology,

saw researchers analyse nearly 600 patients for three years and found the blood test was able to detect mild to moderate traumatic brain lesions with up to 97% accuracy in adults.

The blood test also indicated which patients were in need of life-saving neurosurgery, the authors said.