Data from a study published online in the journal Neurology suggest that a blood biomarker may help predict recovery time for patients with a sports-related concussion. 

The authors conducted preseason plasma sampling and cognitive testing for 46 athletes who experienced a sports-related concussion, 37 controls, and 21 non-athlete control participants. They found that both concussed and control athletes had significantly higher mean tau protein at baseline compared to healthy, non-athlete control participants. Compared to concussed athletes with short return-to-play periods, those with longer return-to-play had higher tau concentrations overall. The authors found that higher levels of plasma tau 6 hours post-concussion were a significant predictor of return-to-play of greater than 10 days. Learn more...