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The FDA has approved for marketing the first blood test that could help determine whether an adult has a concussion.
The Banyan Brain Trauma Indicator measures the proteins UCH-L1 and GFAP in a patient's blood within 12 hours of head injury. Levels of these proteins can help indicate whether a patient has a low probability of intracranial lesions and thus does not need a computed tomography (CT) scan. Test results can take 3 to 4 hours.
In a study of nearly 2000 blood samples of adults with suspected concussion, the Banyan Brain Trauma Indicator was 97.5% accurate in predicting intracranial lesions on CT and 99.6% accurate in ruling out lesions.
The test could help avert CT scans in a third of patients with suspected concussion, according to a…