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Concussions can be diagnosed through a saliva test, British researchers find
I wish I had seen this yesterday. I would have put this in LBN.
Two outside experts — Concussion Legacy Foundation co-founder Chris Nowinski and New York University Director of Neuropsychology William Barr — reviewed the study and said it relied on sound, strong science and represented exciting progress.
Link to tweet
NFL
Concussions can be diagnosed through a saliva test, British researchers find
By Adam Kilgore
March 23, 2021 at 6:31 p.m. EDT
Researchers say they can diagnose concussions accurately using a biomarker in saliva, a groundbreaking finding that raises the possibility that doctors and athletic trainers could rapidly determine whether someone suffered a concussion using an objective test, according to a peer-reviewed article published Tuesday in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
The implications reach beyond the playing field but are significant for sports — especially football, which for years has grappled with how to diagnose concussions and when to allow players to return to play after potentially suffering a brain injury. An objective test would not replace the standard clinical assessment based on symptoms, but it could provide a crucial supplement for confirming concussions or even finding ones that went unreported.
A team of scientists and doctors studied more than 150 rugby players at England’s highest level between 2017 and 2019, comparing saliva samples collected before the season with samples collected as players were assessed for concussions or an injury to another part of their body. The researchers found the genetic markers in saliva determined with 94 percent accuracy which players had been diagnosed with concussions and which had not, co-author and University of Birmingham professor Antonio Belli said.
[Doctors provide CTE symptoms among the living]
At present, a diagnostic test for concussions does not exist. Doctors diagnose them by interpreting behavior, symptoms and, in a hospital setting, imaging tests. The new findings could change how concussions are diagnosed in sports and beyond, helping patients that range from football players to victims of traffic accidents to soldiers on a battlefield.
{snip}
Adam Kilgore
Adam Kilgore covers national sports for The Washington Post. Previously, he served as The Post's Washington Nationals beat writer from 2010 to 2014. Follow https://twitter.com/adamkilgorewp
Concussions can be diagnosed through a saliva test, British researchers find
By Adam Kilgore
March 23, 2021 at 6:31 p.m. EDT
Researchers say they can diagnose concussions accurately using a biomarker in saliva, a groundbreaking finding that raises the possibility that doctors and athletic trainers could rapidly determine whether someone suffered a concussion using an objective test, according to a peer-reviewed article published Tuesday in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
The implications reach beyond the playing field but are significant for sports — especially football, which for years has grappled with how to diagnose concussions and when to allow players to return to play after potentially suffering a brain injury. An objective test would not replace the standard clinical assessment based on symptoms, but it could provide a crucial supplement for confirming concussions or even finding ones that went unreported.
A team of scientists and doctors studied more than 150 rugby players at England’s highest level between 2017 and 2019, comparing saliva samples collected before the season with samples collected as players were assessed for concussions or an injury to another part of their body. The researchers found the genetic markers in saliva determined with 94 percent accuracy which players had been diagnosed with concussions and which had not, co-author and University of Birmingham professor Antonio Belli said.
[Doctors provide CTE symptoms among the living]
At present, a diagnostic test for concussions does not exist. Doctors diagnose them by interpreting behavior, symptoms and, in a hospital setting, imaging tests. The new findings could change how concussions are diagnosed in sports and beyond, helping patients that range from football players to victims of traffic accidents to soldiers on a battlefield.
{snip}
Adam Kilgore
Adam Kilgore covers national sports for The Washington Post. Previously, he served as The Post's Washington Nationals beat writer from 2010 to 2014. Follow https://twitter.com/adamkilgorewp
