My CT scan was normal. Does that mean I don't have a brain injury?
No. CT scans detect bleeding and fractures. They do not visualize the microscopic injury behind most mild TBI. In a large multicenter study, 27 percent of TBI patients with normal CT scans had visible injury on MRI []. Diagnosis is clinical, and a normal CT is consistent with mild TBI [].
Is there really a blood test for brain injury?
Yes. Since 2018 the FDA has authorized blood tests measuring GFAP and UCH-L1, proteins released by injured brain cells, to help physicians evaluate suspected mild TBI in the acute window [, , , ].
I was tested weeks after my injury. Is that too late for the test to mean anything?
The FDA-cleared acute tests are designed for the first 24 hours, to help decide whether a CT is needed []. Published research separately shows that biomarker abnormalities persist in many patients for months and years after injury [, , , ]. Later testing is performed as certified laboratory testing and interpreted by a physician within a full evaluation. What a later result means depends on the whole clinical picture, which is exactly how physicians use it.
Why do I still have symptoms months after a concussion?
Because lasting symptoms are common after mild TBI. In an NIH-funded study across 11 US trauma centers, 53 percent of mild TBI patients reported injury-related functional limitations a full year after injury [].
Can any single test diagnose a brain injury?
No, and no credible clinic claims otherwise. Under current consensus criteria, diagnosis is made by a physician from mechanism, signs, symptoms, and examination, with imaging and laboratory findings in support [].
Who decides whether I get tested or treated?
You do, with your physician. Testing and treatment are always the patient's decision, made with a physician's recommendation and explanation.
Are these tests experimental?
The acute GFAP and UCH-L1 tests are FDA-cleared [, , , ]. Biomarkers are embedded in the National Academies' recommendations [], the 2025 national classification framework [], and current diagnostic criteria []. Testing beyond the cleared windows uses the laboratory-developed pathway that governs much of specialized diagnostics in the United States, inside federally certified laboratories.
Why does your website cite all these studies?
Because claims about brain injury should be checkable. Every factual statement on these pages links to a published study, federal document, or professional guideline, listed in the research library with notes on what each source does and does not establish.