title: Acute plasma tau relates to prolonged return to play after concussion.
abstract: To determine whether tau changes after sport-related concussion (SRC) relate to return to play (RTP).
  
  
  
  Collegiate athletes underwent preseason plasma sampling and cognitive testing and were followed. After a SRC (n = 46), athletes and controls (n = 37) had sampling at 6 hours, and at 24 hours, 72 hours, and 7 days after SRC. A sample of 21 nonathlete controls were compared at baseline. SRC athletes were grouped by long (>10 days, n = 23) and short (≤10 days, n = 18) RTP. Total tau was measured using an ultrasensitive immunoassay.
  
  
  
  Both SRC and athlete controls had significantly higher mean tau at baseline compared to nonathlete healthy controls (F101,3= 19.644, p < 0.01). Compared to SRC athletes with short RTP, those with long RTP had higher tau concentrations overall, after controlling for sex (F39,1= 3.59, p = 0.022), compared to long RTP athletes, at 6 (p < 0.01), 24 (p < 0.01), and 72 hours (p = 0.02). Receiver operator characteristic analyses showed that higher plasma tau 6 hours post-SRC was a significant predictor of RTP >10 days (area under the curve 0.81; 95% confidence interval 0.62-0.97, p = 0.01).
  
  
  
  Elevated plasma tau concentration within 6 hours following a SRC was related to having a prolonged RTP, suggesting that tau levels may help inform RTP.
authors.affiliation: From the National Institute of Nursing Research (J.G., W.L.), NIH, Bethesda, MD; Department of Emergency Medicine (K.M.-B., J.B.), University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY; and Quanterix Corporation (A.J.), Lexington, MA. gillj@mail.nih.gov.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gill
authors.affiliation: From the National Institute of Nursing Research (J.G., W.L.), NIH, Bethesda, MD; Department of Emergency Medicine (K.M.-B., J.B.), University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY; and Quanterix Corporation (A.J.), Lexington, MA.
authors.forename: Kian
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Merchant-Borna
authors.affiliation: From the National Institute of Nursing Research (J.G., W.L.), NIH, Bethesda, MD; Department of Emergency Medicine (K.M.-B., J.B.), University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY; and Quanterix Corporation (A.J.), Lexington, MA.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jeromin
authors.affiliation: From the National Institute of Nursing Research (J.G., W.L.), NIH, Bethesda, MD; Department of Emergency Medicine (K.M.-B., J.B.), University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY; and Quanterix Corporation (A.J.), Lexington, MA.
authors.forename: Whitney
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Livingston
authors.affiliation: From the National Institute of Nursing Research (J.G., W.L.), NIH, Bethesda, MD; Department of Emergency Medicine (K.M.-B., J.B.), University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY; and Quanterix Corporation (A.J.), Lexington, MA.
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bazarian
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D019540:Area Under Curve; D056352:Athletes; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000097:blood*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001774:Blood Chemical Analysis; D001924:Brain Concussion / Q000097:blood* / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012372:ROC Curve; D020127:Recovery of Function / Q000502:physiology; D000068958:Return to Sport / Q000502:physiology*; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D013334:Students; D013997:Time Factors; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; C054369:MAPT protein, human; D016875:tau Proteins