A latest research has backed evidence that a simple blood test could be used to detect concussions someday. It suggested that a protein associated with head trauma could be present in blood till seven days post injury, which may be helpful in diagnosing patients who get late in looking for treatment.

The study included patients from a Florida hospital, and the results are preliminary. They suggested that a concussion blood test on the basis of the two studied proteins or on other so-called biomarkers under evaluation can be possible just some years away from regular use.

However, the latest findings ‘are a substantial step’ in the development of a test that may be used in large settings ranging from sports events to battlefield and offices of doctors. This is in accordance with an editorial appeared with the study in JAMA Neurology.

The editorial co-author Dr. Ramon Diaz-Arrastia, a researcher at the government’s Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, said there are chances that many of the biomarkers will prove useful for diagnosing concussions, each of which is going to tell them something a bit different regarding the injury.

Dr. Linda Papa, an Orlando Health emergency medicine specialist, and colleagues conducted tests of about 600 adults who underwent treatment at Orlando Regional Medical Center. Nearly 50% of them had concussions due to car crashes, sports, falls and other activities. Most of the cases were mild, having symptoms, including unconsciousness, feeling disoriented or amnesia. Other adults suffered fractures or other kinds of non-brain trauma.

They collected blood samples in the initial four hours post injury, and then from time to time for a week. The tests noted down the amount of two proteins dubbed GFAP and UCH-L1, located in brain cells.