Main study

• Mild traumatic brain injury (or mTBI), commonly called concussion
• We don’t always know how a brain injury will affect people’s health
• This study will test members of the public, service personnel and sports people to find ways to help us predict how a brain injury will affect people’s health
• This will help us treat people better, getting them back to work, duty or play quicker

• No! Joining the study is voluntary. If you decide not to take part, your usual care will not be affected
• Please take the time to read this information sheet fully and talk to others about the study if you wish
• You will be able to discuss the study with a member of the research team and ask any questions you might have

We will help with travel and parking costs and offer £150 compensation for your time.

There are nearly a million hospital visits each year in the UK for mild traumatic brain injury, or mTBI. This is sometimes called concussion. We call it “mild” but a third of people can’t work a year after their injury. Problems can include headaches, poor memory, and poor mental health.

We can’t always tell which patients might have long-term problems so we can’t always give people the right early treatment. 

Biomarkers are things like blood samples or brain scans. We are going to test many different biomarkers to see which can show who is at risk of long-term health problems after mTBI. We want to find biomarkers that are accurate and practical for civilians, soldiers and sports people.

If you decide to take part, the research team will ask you to do the following over the next 2 years. This will vary depending on how soon after your injury you enter the study:

• If you join within one day of your injury you will do all study visits
• If you join 3 weeks after your injury you will skip the first visit (yellow box)
• If you join 3 months after your injur you will miss out the first 5 visits (yellow and green boxes)