Traumatic Brain Injury News

Simple Blood Test Can Detect Mild Brain Trauma – Army Says
October 15, 2010 | USA Today

A mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) or even a concussion can have serious effects if not treated. Permanent brain damage can result from consecutive concussions, especially if the brain is not given enough time to heal form the initial blow. The problem is that a concussion is very difficult to diagnose, mostly because brain damage goes undetected in scans and symptoms are often ignored or underreported by patients.

The Army recently announced, however, that they have found a simple blood test that could potentially diagnose a concussion and mild TBI. In collaboration with the Florida-based Banyan Biomarkers, the Army has developed a test that seeks out unique proteins which damaged brains cells release into the blood stream. The Army will have to wait for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve the test, but experts are already calling the discovery a milestone in brain-injury care. The test will allow doctors to “find people who are under the radar and then treat them appropriately,” said Gregory O’Shanick, national medical director for the Brain Injury Association of America.

While researchers wait for the FDA’s take on the test, they will be conducting a final set of clinical trials which will apply the test to 1,200 patients drawn from 30 trauma centers across the U.S. About 1.4 million Americans suffer a brain injury each year according to the National Brain Injury Association, 70 percent of which are mild cases.

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