NEW YORK, Sep 10 (Reuters Health) -- A simple blood test performed soon after a mild head injury may spot brain damage, even when imaging scans are normal, German researchers report.
The test "might be of clinical... value for assessing the extent of primary brain injury," write researchers led by Dr. Andreas Raabe, of the University of Leipzig in Germany. Their results are published in the September issue of the journal Neurosurgery.
Previous research efforts have focused on a number of blood compounds as possible 'markers' for brain damage. In their study, the authors investigated S-100B, a protein found in nerve cells that is released into the blood when these cells are injured.
The investigators examined S-100B levels in blood samples obtained soon after hospital admission from 84 patients with different degrees of head injury.
They report that S-100B levels rose along with severity of brain injury (as confirmed on CT scan). Very high levels (over 2 micrograms per liter) "indicate severe... brain damage associated with a high (death) rate," according to the authors, and at levels over 3.8 micrograms/L, "there were fatal outcomes in all cases."
Follow-up of patient outcomes 6 months after injury suggest that S-100B levels can also predict patient recovery. "Increasing or persisting high levels indicate ongoing damage despite... therapy," according to the researchers, while "quickly decreasing levels or persisting (low) levels" indicate improvement.
Based on their findings, Raabe's team believe that the new test could help physicians identify those patients with brain damage from apparently mild head injury and serve as a 'marker' for the effectiveness of ongoing therapy.
