Linda Papa, MD, an emergency physician and director of clinical research at Orlando (Fla.) Regional Medical Center, published a study in the Journal of American Medical Association Neurology that suggests a blood test may be able to detect mild to moderate brain injuries, as reported by the Orlando Sentinel.
Dr. Papa researched nearly 600 trauma patients going through Orlando Regional Medical Center between 2010 and 2014. She compared patients with head injuries to those without.
Here are five points:
1. Dr. Papa found that the presence of GFAP and UCH-L1, two proteins in the blood, are good indicators of concussions for up to a week after head trauma.
2. The level of the proteins can also predict if there's mild to moderate traumatic lesion on the brain and when there's a need for surgery.
3. A previous study published by Dr. Papa showed that the blood test could detect brain injuries in children with 94 percent accuracy.
4. A few companies are in the process of developing machines that can perform the blood test, but Dr. Papa isn't a shareholder in them.
5. If all goes as expected, the blood test can become available by 2020.