First blood test to help diagnose traumatic brain injuries gets FDA approval

CBS News | Feb 18, 2018

A test to help diagnose traumatic brain injury, produced by Banyan Biomarkers, has received approval from the Food and Drug Administration. The test works to detect two proteins that leak into the blood stream following a head injury, and is capable of doing so within 12 hours of when the injury took place. Patients who test positive would be referred for CT scans to confirm results and determine the course of action. Banyan Biomarker’s innovative test “sets the stage for a more modernized standard of care for testing of suspected cases,” as Gottlieb stated within the article.

It’s not concussions that cause CTE. It’s repeated hits, a study finds                                                                                                                           CNN | Jan 18, 2018

CTE, or Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, is a neurodegenerative disease found in individuals with a history of brain trauma. It has been diagnosed in many professional football players, raising questions surrounding how to decrease the risk of CTE among athletes. A recent study conducted by Dr. Lee Goldstein and colleagues at Boston University investigating the brains of athletes has suggested that it is important to shift the emphasis of CTE prevention efforts to ways to reducing the total number of repeated hits instead of solely focusing on concussions.