Researchers from Alberta universities patent urine-based analysis to diagnose concussions
Concussions have become one of the largest issues in sports, affecting not just professional athletes but also youth playing at minor levels.
Protocols have changed the way many contact sports are now being played and make it difficult to figure out how long injured players should sit out, according to Football Alberta executive director Tim Enger.
"It's one thing to diagnose or think that a person has a concussion, but it's quite another thing to determine when it's safe for them to get back in the game," Enger told CTV News.
Fortunately, researchers from the University of Lethbridge and the University of Calgary have been approved for a provisional patent on a test that will quickly diagnose concussions in individuals using a urine sample.
The new test examines a panel of 18 very small and specific urinary molecules called metabolites, according to Dr. Gerlinde Metz, a professor of neuroscience at the u of L and one of the researchers working on the project.
"We've been analyzing those samples to identify those biomarkers, or in this case metabolites, that generate a metabolic signature linked to traumatic brain injury. In particular, concussions," she said.
The samples came from 16-year-old hockey players collected by U of C researcher, Dr. Chantel Debert.
Metz says the results don't just stop at diagnosing brain trauma.
"With further testing, we can also say if someone had recovered from their injury and is able to move on with their lives," she said.
One of the long-term goals is to make the technology available for field use, to test whether someone has suffered a concussion or brain injury with increased accuracy.
"The idea where you can have more medical certainty toward kids getting back on the field is welcome news because that's one of the areas that we'll always need to be very cognitive of," said Enger.
"It's great to know that there's some progress being made in some actual determination for when it's safe for the kids to get back in action."
Tony Montina works with the U of L department of chemistry and biochemistry, and is director of the Magnetic Resonance Facility, as well as part of the research group.
He is excited about the fact that this new test could also lay out a rehabilitation plan.
"We'd look for changes in levels to tell us how well a therapy is working, allowing for targeted therapeutics to speed up the recovery process for athletes," he said.
"So this would allow us to make sure athletes have truly recovered prior to coming back rather than using a subjective survey-based test of symptoms."
Down the road, Montina believes this urinary test will be useful in identifying biomarkers for other conditions including strokes, Alzheimer's and even brain cancer.
"The idea of personalized, bedside, in the clinic medicine becomes possible through the development of this technology," said Montina.
"So it opens up hundreds and hundreds of doors to other routines that can be carried out at the clinic in that personalized fashion."
The work surrounding this research is still in the early stages but the provisional patent will help allow them to continue to run tests on a much wider group of people to determine certain parameters for age, gender and even different neurological conditions.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
NEW More unauthorized products for skin, sexual enhancement, recalled: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled various items this week, including torches, beef biltong and unauthorized products related to skin care and sexual enhancement.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Polar ice is melting and changing Earth's rotation. It's messing with time itself
One day in the next couple of years, everyone in the world will lose a second of their time. Exactly when that will happen is being influenced by humans, according to a new study, as melting polar ice alters the Earth’s rotation and changes time itself.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
NEW 'Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire': A crowd pleaser that turns it up to 11
Hot on the heels of last year's 'Godzilla Minus One' comes 'Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,' the first ever Academy Award winner in the giant reptile's decades-long film career.