# Peripheral inflammatory biomarkers for acute concussion: An extension of the Concussion Assessment, Research and Education Consortium Study

> **NIH NIH R21** · MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN · 2020 · $444,072

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Millions of concussions occur annually in the US and are currently diagnosed and managed based on clinical
judgment, which is largely informed by a patient’s self-report of symptoms. There is a great need to identify
objective biomarkers to augment current clinical tools for diagnosing concussion and identifying patients at risk
for prolonged recovery. The objectives of this proposal are to determine the effects of concussion on blood
markers of inflammation and establish if these markers can help discriminate concussed individuals from controls
and predict prolonged recovery following concussion. The central hypotheses are 1) that an early-acute post-
injury increase in inflammatory markers will improve the discrimination of concussed individuals from controls
relative to traditional brain injury markers, and 2) post-injury inflammatory markers will predict the time course of
clinical and neurophysiological recovery following concussion. To test our hypotheses, we will leverage collected
biospecimens and data from the NCAA-DoD Concussion Assessment, Research and Education (CARE)
Consortium Study, a large, prospective study investigating the natural history of concussion in NCAA student-
athletes and military service academy cadets. Peripheral levels of inflammatory markers selected based on our
preliminary data will be quantified from existing aliquots of serum in CARE athletes and cadets with concussion
at pre-injury visits and several post-injury visits. CARE post-injury visits include two acute time points (i.e., within
6-hours and 24-48 hours post-injury), the point at which individuals no longer report symptoms, and seven days
following return-to-play. Matched contact sport athletes, non-contact sport athletes, and cadets complete similar
visits and will serve as controls. Analyses will incorporate existing clinical, neuroimaging, and brain injury blood
biomarker data. We will address the following specific aims: Aim 1) Prospectively characterize the time course
of changes in peripheral markers of inflammation from pre- to post-concussion in athletes and cadets relative to
non-injured controls, Aim 2) Determine the extent to which peripheral inflammatory markers are associated with
symptom and neuroimaging-related indices of recovery following concussion in athletes and MSA members.
Exploratory hypotheses will determine the potential moderating effects of sex and sex hormones on these
markers and outcomes. This work is significant because it will prospectively determine the effects of concussion
on blood markers of inflammation in a large, extensively characterized cohort of men and women athletes and
cadets. This work will also determine the utility of blood-based inflammatory markers as complementary
diagnostic and prognostic markers for concussion to be used in conjunction with brain injury markers and other
clinical measures.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10037999
- **Project number:** 1R21NS118169-01
- **Recipient organization:** MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN
- **Principal Investigator:** Timothy B. Meier
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $444,072
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-07-01 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10037999

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10037999, Peripheral inflammatory biomarkers for acute concussion: An extension of the Concussion Assessment, Research and Education Consortium Study (1R21NS118169-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10037999. Licensed CC0.

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