[Source:  Science Daily]

Researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital -The Neuro, at McGill University and the MUHC, are working to develop a much needed tool for helping diagnose concussions or mild traumatic brain injuries suffered by thousands of young Canadians — hockey and football players among them. Post-concussion symptoms can include physical ailments, emotional disturbances and sleep disruption. Objective methods for predicting how severely mild brain trauma can affect a young person’s brain are sorely needed. The potential for harmful effects is especially real in the case of children and youths — with the higher threat of repeated injury and cumulative effects of concussions (and links to other serious neurological illnesses) — accurate diagnosis and proper follow-up is essential.