"A saliva test may someday be able to diagnose a concussion and predict how long symptoms last according to a study published Monday httpjamanetwork.comjournalsjamapediatricsfullarticle.jamapediatrics.. in the JAMA Pediatrics. A concussion https_symptoms.html is one type of traumatic brain injury caused by a bump blow or jolt to either the head or the body. Though not lifethreatening these injuries to the brain can be serious and cause symptoms of headache or pressure in the head nausea vomiting dizziness balance problems double or blurry vision sluggishness confusion memory problems and difficulty concentrating.  In their study Penn State College of Medicine researchers found five small molecules called microRNAs in saliva with real potential for identifying concussive symptoms in children teens and young adults. MicroRNAs influence protein activities throughout the body and they are easily measured in biofluids including blood cerebrospinal fluid and saliva according to the authors. Dr. Steve Hicks senior author of the study and an assistant professor of pediatrics at Penn State College of Medicine said the five microRNAs in saliva could predict with approximately  accuracy which concussed children would have symptoms one month later. In comparison standard survey measures that are typically used in clinics were approximately  accurate.  The study was funded in part by Quadrant Biosciences a biotech company that hopes to bring a saliva test for concussion to market in the next  to  months Hicks said. Concussions affect mostly children In  there were about . million https_the_facts.html traumatic brain injuryrelated ER visits hospitalizations and deaths in the US according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Nearly twothirds https of concussions take place in children and teens Hicks and his coauthors noted. Although most patients symptoms disappear within two weeks onethird of children and teens may experience prolonged symptoms of concussion.  Its frustrating for both parents and physicians that we cant accurately and objectively predict how long a childs concussion symptoms might last what those symptoms are likely to consist of and when it might be safe for them to return to sports or school said Hicks who as a practicing pediatrician has routinely cared for kids with concussions.  For the study Hicks and his coauthors looked at  patients between the ages of  and  with an average age of .  MicroRNA expression was measured in saliva spit into a cup by the patients who had been injured mostly in sports or car accidents when they arrived at Penn State Hershey Medical Center for an evaluation. Of the   had prolonged symptoms and  had shortterm symptoms of mild traumatic brain injury.  Levels of five microRNAs accurately identified patients with prolonged symptoms in the study. Even more the five saliva biomarkers were more accurate than the Standardized Concussion Assessment Tool  a questionnaire currently used to help make a diagnosis of mild traumatic brain injury. The questionnaire httpbjsm.bmj.comcontentbjsports.full.pdf is not a standalone tool but one used in conjunction with an assessment made by a medical professional. It notes that an athlete may have a concussion even if their score is normal. We found three microRNAs that were highly associated with specific symptoms one month after injury such as headache fatigue and memory difficulties Hicks said. He added that creating an actual test for use by doctors will require collaboration on the part of researchers.  Fortunately the technology required to measure saliva RNA is already employed in medicine we use it to check patients for upper respiratory viruses in our hospitals and clinics every day Hicks said. Modifying this approach for patients with concussions could potentially provide a rapid objective tool for managing brain injury. The new research represents an advance in the science of sportrelated concussions according to an editorial https.jamapediatrics.. published alongside the study in JAMA Pediatrics. Way too early to know However the editorial authors Dr. William P. Meehan III of Micheli Center for Sports Injury Prevention at Boston Childrens Hospital in Massachusetts and Dr. Rebekah Mannix of Brain Injury Center at Boston Childrens Hospital noted that the relatively small sample size in this study requires largerscale studies to determine the reliability of the results.  For example they noted that the use of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory medications is common among those with more severe injury. In the study those who had used antiinflammatory medications were the ones with longerterm symptoms. Possibly then the drugs may be a potential confounding variable they wrote meaning that medication may influence test results and symptoms adding an element of confusion to the study and its possible interpretation. Still the findings are promising representing potential biomarkers for the diagnosis recovery and prognostic assessment of a sportrelated concussion.  Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher a neurologist and National Director of The Sports Neurology Clinic at The CORE Institute said that work like this is important because it does provide potential for tests that can be helpful in the clinical setting.  I think the main caveat is this is way too early to know what this type of tool can do for us added Kutcher who was not involved in the new research. The main reason is that theres a difference between simply having a brain that experiences force and being concussed.  The saliva biomarker may be showing that neurons experienced force and not that a there is a concussion with which the brain cannot perform its typical functions within a normal range he said I would hesitate to assign too much potential groundbreaking science. Follow CNN Health on Facebook and Twitter See the latest news and share your comments with CNN Health on Facebook https and Twitter httpstwitter.comcnnhealth. Other biomarkers including blood are being investigated as potential concussion tests he said though nothing is at this stage or beyond this.  There are also tools that look at the electrical networks that brains form he said disclosing that he is consulting for a company working on one such technology. A patient undergoes an electroencephalogram while doing a cognitive task and the EEG records how the brain responds.  By actually measuring the brain network activity directly you can look at really what is the functional health of the brain he said. In addition some scientists are exploring functional MRI techniques to look at the metabolic function of different areas of the brain to gain insight into concussion he said. Hicks said he and his colleagues are collaborating with others to examine saliva biomarkers in adult athletes and members of the armed services.  Because the markers we identified in this study are not correlated with patient age we are hopeful they may be applied in adult populations as well he said."