Key points from article :
Current tools to determine concussion are crude and often subjective (e.g. count backward from ten to one).
Damaged axons release a tau proteins into the cerebral spinal fluid – some of which enter the bloodstream.
So few of the proteins end up in the blood that until very recently no one’s been able to detect them.
Quanterix Simoa robotic biochemistry assay instrument can detect tau protein in hours – with trials planned to reduce to 15 minutes.
Tau levels closely predict severity of injury, and time needed before athletes should return to activity.
The study was published in the Neurology Journal.
