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Concussions Can Be Detected With New Blood Test Approved by FDA. (nytimes.com)
The Food and Drug Administration this week approved a long-awaited blood test to detect concussions in people and more quickly identify those with possible brain injuries [Editor's note: the link may be paywalled; alternative source]. From a report: The test, called the Banyan Brain Trauma Indicator, is also expected to reduce the number of people exposed to radiation through CT scans, or computed tomography scans, that detect brain tissue damage or intracranial lesions. If the blood test is adopted widely, it could eliminate the need for CT scans in at least a third of those with suspected brain injuries, the agency predicted. Concussion-related brain damage has become a particularly worrisome public health issue in many sports, especially football, affecting the ranks of professional athletes on down to the young children in Pop Warner leagues. Those concerns have escalated so far that it has led to a decline in children participating in tackle sports.
Fewer kids participate in tackle sports! What are we going to do now that fewer kids get injured pointlessly? We have to do something, dammit, we can't have that!
What? No, kids still can't climb on trees or play tag outside, they could get hurt needlessly. But wholesome activities like smashing into each other during school activities that protects the revenue of the sports industry is something we have to protect and treasure.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.