Study to Determine Brain Biomarkers That Will Speed up Diagnosis of Brain Injury
If all goes well, we could soon have a simple test that allows doctors to test for a brain injury in a patient. Right now, all a doctor can do is rely on a patient's symptoms to diagnose a brain injury. This means that often, there's a misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis of brain injury, with serious implications for the patient's recovery and consequently, his quality of life.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Department Of Defense is investing in a study to determine the presence of brain biomarkers that can allow physicians to diagnose a brain injury immediately. Cardiac biomarkers allow doctors to diagnose a heart attack quickly in a patient, simply by administering a test. The goal is to determine brain biomarkers, and develop tests that will help detect such biomarkers.
As a New Jersey brain injury lawyer, I know very well the effect that delayed diagnosis and treatment can have on a brain injury patient. Often, diagnosis may be delayed if the person has not lost consciousness after the injury. A person who suffers a mild concussion from a slip and fall accident or a football injury, may not necessarily lose consciousness, but may have still suffered a mild brain injury. If this injury is not diagnosed, and the person goes back to playing sports again, or suffers another fall, he is at risk of suffering another concussion. The second injury could lead to complications. These are complications that could have been avoided if the first brain injury had been diagnosed.
A test like this would have significant benefits not just for victims of auto and truck accidents in New Jersey, but also for thousands of people who suffer brain injuries in fall accidents and accidents in the workplace.