The Test-Retest Reliability and Exercise-Driven Changes of UCH-L1 in Healthy, Recreationally Active College Students
Undergraduates: Grant Cabell, Liz Teel Erik Hanson, Jason Mihalik
Faculty Advisor: Kevin Guskiewicz
Department: Exercise & Sport Science
Concussive injuries are a common injury in contact sports and remain difficult to diagnose. The current concussion assessment battery is not foolproof and more sensitive concussion diagnostic tools are needed. Blood biomarkers have long been proposed as a potential solution, however their utility is still not well established. As most concussion evaluations require serial evaluation and occur after exercise, these properties must be evaluated before UCH-L1 can be used clinically. Therefore, the primary purpose of this study was to investigate the test-retest reliability of UCH-L1 in healthy subjects. A secondary purpose was to examine the effect of exercise on UCH-L1 levels in healthy participants. Participants completed a maximal exercise test during two clinical assessments sessions 10-14 days apart, with blood draws occurring before and after each exercise test. Results, conclusions have not yet been determined.