UM Brain Injury Research to Benefit Athletes, Military

MISSOULA -

Professional athletes and members of the military could soon benefit from traumatic brain injury research at the University of Montana.

Two UM scientists recently earned a $300,000 grant from the NFL and General Electric as part of a national project on brain health.

UM scientists have identified a protein in blood that's connected to how the brain reacts after a traumatic injury.

They said their research could help doctors better diagnose and treat brain injuries.

Assistant Research Professor of Biomedical Sciences at UM, Tom Rau, said they discovered levels of a certain protein in rats' blood dropped off after a traumatic brain injury.

Then, they did the same test on human tissue.

"When we stained the brain tissue, we kind of found the same thing that we'd seen in the rats, that this XCT had dropped off," Rau said.

This means the protein levels can serve as a marker for when a person has healed from a brain injury.

"Without having that, you don't know when it's safe for an athlete or a soldier or anyone to go back to their normal activity."

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UM Brain Injury Research to Benefit Athletes, Military