Globally an estimated 40 million people are affected annually by Traumatic Brian Injury (TBI). The cumulative cost of TBIs in the US alone is $76.5 billion, 80% of which are defined as concussion. Concussion is a mild form of traumatic injury to the brain where repeated and undetected concussions can lead to permanently altered brain function. Consequently, the burden of mortality and morbidity that concussion imposes on society makes this condition a critical public health problem. Currently there are no official statistics for the number of people living in Ireland with a brain injury but it has been estimated that between 8,000-10,000 people sustain concussions annually.

Concussion awareness is increasing almost daily in most mainstream sports. However, there is currently no scientific test for concussion only a subjective head injury assessment. The goal of our research is to study the mechanism of this injury at a cellular level to take steps towards a device to diagnose it. In normal conditions, brain-derived proteins are prevented from entering the bloodstream by an almost completely impermeable cellular wall the blood-brain barrier. However, post-concussion, this barrier malfunctions and allows these proteins to enter the bloodstream. These proteins could potentially be used to diagnose concussion - recent research has pointed to a number of key proteins that change in concentration in the blood of patients with concussion. However, they have found it difficult to outline the markers, as patients may have suffered from other injuries, such as broken bones.

Thus far, researchers have failed to solve for how these proteins enter the bloodstream and thus, cannot attribute their presence directly to concussion. The aim of this proposed research is to study the mechanisms of how these proteins cross into the bloodstream. Ultimately we hope to aid in the identification of biomarkers to help a blood based diagnostic method to allow for accurate, immediate and irrefutable diagnosis of a concussive injury.