News Release

New study shows GFAP and UCH-L1 are not useful biomarkers for diagnosing mild traumatic brain injury

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

<i>Journal of Neurotrauma</i>

image: Journal of Neurotrauma is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published 24 times per year in print and online that focuses on the latest advances in the clinical and laboratory investigation of traumatic brain and spinal cord injury. view more 

Credit: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers

New Rochelle, NY, Feb. 7, 2017--In patients who suffered acute orthopedic injuries, two proposed biomarkers for mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) were not able to distinguish between patients who did or did not have mTBI. Relying on elevated levels of the proteins GFAP and UCH-L1 to identify patients with mTBI could lead to false-positive diagnoses and unnecessary brain imaging, as reported in an article in Journal of Neurotrauma, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Journal of Neurotrauma website until March 7, 2017.

Jussi Posti, MD, PhD and coauthors from Turku University Hospital and University of Turku (Finland), VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland (Tampere), and University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke's Hospital (U.K.), measured the levels of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase-L1 (UCH-L1) in patients at several time points after acute orthopedic injuries. The researchers compared the levels to those in patients with computed tomography (CT)-negative mTBI. They report the results in the article entitled "Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein and Ubiquitin C-Terminal Hydrolase-L1 Are Not Specific Biomarkers for Mild CT-Negative Traumatic Brain Injury."

"This study represents another important contribution to the field of biomarker discovery within the context of mild traumatic brain injury," says John T. Povlishock, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Neurotrauma. "Although as noted by the authors, this study used platforms and assays different from previous reports in the literature, the fundamental fact remains that this study's findings emphasize the need for increased vigilance when using GFAP and UCH-L-1 as potential biomarkers of mild traumatic brain injury in a patient population that has sustained concomitant orthopedic injury."

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About the Journal

Journal of Neurotrauma is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published 24 times per year in print and online that focuses on the latest advances in the clinical and laboratory investigation of traumatic brain and spinal cord injury. Emphasis is on the basic pathobiology of injury to the nervous system, and the papers and reviews evaluate preclinical and clinical trials targeted at improving the early management and long-term care and recovery of patients with traumatic brain injury. Journal of Neurotrauma is the official journal of the National Neurotrauma Society and the International Neurotrauma Society. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Journal of Neurotrauma website.

About the Publisher

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Therapeutic Hypothermia and Temperature Management, Brain Connectivity, and Tissue Engineering. Its biotechnology trade magazine, GEN (Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.


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