Brain Biomarker Test Will Help Indicate Presence of Injury Godosky & Gentile Attorneys New York New York

Brain Biomarker Test Will Help Indicate Presence of Injury

Posted by: William Gentile
August 09, 2010
Topic: Automobile Accidents

Brain injuries are some of the most difficult injuries to diagnose. One of the challenges is that some of the symptoms of a brain injury- headaches, nausea, and dizziness – may be indicators of other conditions, with the result that doctors often misdiagnose brain injuries. That can be potentially dangerous, because there's very little that you can do to reverse brain damage once it has occurred. The only thing you can do is limit the severity of the damage by beginning treatment as soon as possible. A delayed diagnosis means delayed treatment, and possibly, delayed recovery.

The Wall Street Journal has a report on efforts to develop a blood test to determine the level of brain injury biomarkers that can indicate the presence of an injury. Doctors have known for long that brain injury leads to the presence of certain biomarkers or chemicals in the blood. However, there has been limited success finding biomarkers in case of mild and common brain injuries, like concussions.

There are a number of studies on to determine the presence of these chemicals. One such study is being funded by the Department of Defense. Brain injury among injured vets is a serious issue, and the military wants to speed up the diagnosis process, thereby accelerating treatment and recovery. Other tests are being conducted at the Banyan Biomarkers Inc. facility in Florida. These tests are being conducted on anesthetized rats, and have provided some significant findings. There seems to be a link between the seriousness of the brain injury and the level of biomarkers in the blood.

If a test like this is developed, locating the presence of a brain injury could be as easy as administering a simple blood test.

As New York personal injury lawyers, we frequently come across cases where brain injury has occurred as a result of auto and truck accidents, slip and fall accidents, and workplace accidents. If a blood test like this is developed and proves successful, thousands of patients every year will benefit from early diagnosis and treatment.