Blood tests can reveal a lot of information and researchers at Sahlgrenska Academy in Sweden have now developed a blood test that reveals the severity of a concussion. This could also allow a player
know when it is safe to return to the game. This is done through measurement of the tau, a special nerve cell protein, and can be used to determine if at elevated levels whether there is a concussion.
By measuring th tau levels in a regular blood test, the researchers could say how severe the concussion was just one hour after the injury, and with a high level of certainty could predict which players would have long-term symptoms and thereby needed to rest longer.
“In ice hockey and other contact sports, repeated concussions are common, where the brain has not finished healing after the first blow. This kind of injury is particularly dangerous, but there have not been any methods for monitoring how a concussion in an athlete heals,” says Henrik Zetterberg.
[Via University of Gothenburg: Blood test identifies brain damage from concussion in ice hockey]