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
How quietly promised law changes in the 2024 federal budget could impact your day-to-day life
The 2024 federal budget released last week includes numerous big spending promises that have garnered headlines. But, tucked into the 416-page document are also series of smaller items, such as promising to amend the law regarding infant formula and to force banks to label government rebates, that you may have missed.
Which foods have the most plastics? You may be surprised
'How much plastic will you have for dinner, sir? And you, ma'am?' While that may seem like a line from a satirical skit on Saturday Night Live, research is showing it's much too close to reality.
opinion I've been a criminal attorney for decades. Here's what I think about the case against Trump
Joey Jackson, a criminal defence attorney and a legal analyst for CNN, outlines what he thinks about the criminal case against Donald Trump in the 'hush money trial.'
$3.8M home in B.C.'s Okanagan has steel shell for extra wildfire protection
A home in B.C.'s Okanagan that features a weathering steel shell designed to provide some protection against wildfires has been listed for sale at $3.8 million.
Diver pinned under water by an alligator figured he had choice. Lose his arm or lose his life
An alligator attacked a diver on April 15 as he surfaced from his dive, nearly out of air. His tank emptied with the gator's jaws crushing the arm he put up in defence.
Psychologist becomes first person in Peru to die by euthanasia after fighting in court for years
A Peruvian psychologist who suffered from an incurable disease that weakened her muscles and had her confined to her bed for several years, died by euthanasia, her lawyer said Monday, becoming the first person in the country to obtain the right to die with medical assistance.
Mystery surrounds giant custom Canucks jerseys worn by Lions Gate Bridge statues
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
Celebrity designer sentenced to 18 months in prison for smuggling crocodile handbags
A leading fashion designer whose accessories were used by celebrities from Britney Spears to the cast of the 'Sex and the City' TV series was sentenced Monday to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty in Miami federal court on charges of smuggling crocodile handbags from her native Colombia.
Wildfire leads to evacuation order issued for northeast Alberta community
An evacuation order was issued on Monday afternoon for homes in the area of Cold Lake First Nation.