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University of Lethbridge study uses urine analysis to diagnose concussions

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Some local researchers are studying pee. Yes, that’s right.

The research group, consisting of two people from the University of Lethbridge and one from the University of Calgary, are patenting urinary analysis to diagnose concussion and enhance recovery protocols.

Concussion or traumatic brain injury has become one of the most important issues in sport. The researchers are using a non-invasive test that examines specific metabolites in a player’s urine.

Dr. Gerlinde Metz with the U of L’s Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, says based on a little drop of urine, they’ve found you can tell if someone has had a traumatic brain injury with very high accuracy.

The researchers feel this type of testing could be “game-changing” for athletes.

Metz’s U of L colleague who’s also working on this research is Tony Montina. He works in the University’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. He says their goal to take this panel of metabolites and eventually develop a field test that would allow for evaluation on site.

The researchers says with further testing, then can also say if someone has recovered from their injury and is able to move on with their lives.

Metabolomic analysis has proven to be useful in identifying biomarkers for various conditions, including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, brain cancer, epilepsy and more.

(With files from U of L news release)

Patrick Siedlecki
Patrick Siedlecki
Pat has been a mainstay in the CJOC News department from the time the station launched in 2007. He's been in the position of News Director since then and has been anchoring daily news casts as well as reporting and working behind the scenes. Community is important to him and keeping CJOC listeners and readers informed about what's happening across southern Alberta and beyond. Pat has been in radio broadcasting for the past 24 years, starting in Port Alberni on Vancouver Island in 1997 and then moving up island to Nanaimo for another few years before heading to Lethbridge in 2007. Pat grew up in the small Saskatchewan farming town of Foam Lake. After high school, he went to Western Academy Broadcasting College (WABC) in Saskatoon prior to moving to the island. Pat also spent several years broadcasting hockey in the BCHL as well as seven years as the radio voice of the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the WHL. Pat has been working at Cornerstone Funeral Home in Lethbridge as a Certified Life Celebrant and Funeral Assistant since 2016. News and sports have always been Pat's passion from the time he was a teenager and he's always been grateful to have had the opportunity to make that part of what's been a fun and long radio career!
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