Rapid Blood Protein Test can Detect Brain Injury in Minutes

A rapid blood test that can measure the levels of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in the blood can be used to detect the severity of traumatic brain injury in 15 minutes.

Rapid blood protein test can detect the severity of head trauma in less than 15 minutes, according to a study.

The study is published in the Journal of Neurotrauma.

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‘A rapid blood test that can detect the level of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in the blood can be used to detect the severity of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in 15 minutes. The test could decrease unnecessary CT scans by 20% or more, saving nearly $100 million in medical expenses annually.’
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The researchers developed a testing device that can help clinicians access traumatic brain injury (TBI) in minutes.

The rapid test would consist of a hand-held device with a cartridge to measure the level of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in the patient’s blood.

Researchers at Abbott Laboratories, a global health care company, will finalize the test for the i-STAT device. The i-STAT device is already used by health care providers and the military around the world. It can perform several common blood tests within minutes. The level of GFAP in the patient’s blood would be revealed.

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The blood test would eliminate the guesswork involved in diagnosing traumatic brain injury. Health care providers would have all the critical information they would need in minutes, to know if a person needs The current study expanded on previous GFAP findings. The study enrolled 1,497 people who sought care at one of the 18 Transforming Research and Clinical Knowledge in TBI (TRACK-TBI) level 1 trauma centers nationwide over four years.

The FDA has approved GFAP. It can be used as a marker for ruling out whether a patient needs a head computed tomography (CT) scan within 12 hours after a mild TBI.

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Many scientists have studied blood tests involving GFAP. They also studied a similar protein called S100B.

GFAP and S100B are proteins that are released in the bloodstream in response to injuries, including TBI. However, GFAP substantially outperformed S100B as a TBI diagnostic marker.

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"Knowing this protein can show the severity of a TBI through a simple blood test is promising when considering we can use a device that already is in widespread use in hospitals, doctors' offices and urgent care facilities. All we would need to do is add an extra cartridge to the device to analyze blood for the GFAP protein," said Okonkwo.

The researchers estimate that the usage of this device could potentially decrease unnecessary CT scans by 20% or more, saving nearly $100 million in medical expenses annually.

Source-Medindia