Biomarker in blood may help predict recovery time for sports concussions

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health found that the blood protein tau could be an important new clinical biomarker to better identify athletes who need more recovery time before safely returning to play after a sports-related concussion.

Biomarker in blood may help predict recovery time for sports concussions. Image credit: noodles2k50/Wikipedia (CC BY 2.0)

Athletes who return to play before full recovery are at high risk for long-term symptoms like headaches, dizziness, and cognitive deficits with subsequent concussions. About half of college athletes see their post-concussive symptoms resolve within 10 days, but in others, the symptoms become chronic.

Tau is also connected to development of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, and is a marker of neuronal injury following severe traumatic brain injuries.

In the study, researchers evaluated changes in tau following a sports-related concussion in male and female collegiate athletes to determine if higher levels of tau relate to longer recovery durations.

Concussed athletes who needed a longer amount of recovery time before returning to play, (more than 10 days post-concussion) had higher tau concentrations overall at six, 24, and 72-hours post-concussion compared to athletes who were able to return to play in 10 days or less.

These observed changes in tau levels occurred in both male and female athletes, as well as across the various sports studied.

Together, these findings indicate that changes in tau measured in as short a time as within six hours of a sports-related concussion may provide objective clinical information to better inform athletes, trainers, and team physicians’ decision-making about predicted recovery times and safe return to play. (NIH)

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