Hi been following the posts for some months now and was wondering what tests are there post (3 months +) for concussion.

CT scans and MRI from what I can tell rarely pick up most of the symptoms experienced by users on here.

There is the mini–mental state examination (MMSE) or Folstein test which is mainly used to test for dementia. Which is somewhat trivial - what season are we in, what room are we sitting in. Although, I got stuck on spell WORLD back wards could not do it

The other one seems to be the MMPI Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. Which again seems to test for depression, anxiety, hypochondria etc.

Are there any other recognised tests available ?

Apologies if this has been covered previously

There is a specialized MRI called Diffusion Tensor Imaging that can show damage from a concussion. qEEG's can reliably (97+%) diagnose a concussion if compared to a reliable TBI/mTBI database.

The MMSE can show symptoms of concussion even though many practitioners mutilate the MMSE expecting the same reliability.

The MMPI can be used to diagnose concussion if the scoring is done using the Cripe Neurological Symptoms index. This is very rare.

The Halsted-Reitan battery of NeuroPsychological Assessment tests can be accurate.

Those that work best are not well appreciated. Attorneys try to discount them in litigation.

The question is, What are you trying to get the diagnosis for? Any of these accurate diagnoses without proper presentation will be discounted.

Thanks for the response

Currently my doctor will not advocate any treatment / therapy until he receives guidance from a specialist as to which way to treat me. At the moment I am being treated for "headaches" despite displaying other symptoms. His advice is to only take paracetamol and sit it out. This is literally a painful position to be in as I am stuck in a "no mans" land of not being able to work, not being able to prove I can't work nor have access to any means to get better. With lack of Neurological services where I live in the UK I have two options:

a) wait for the Health service here in the UK to provide me a with Neurologist review. However they want an MRI scan before seeing me. Then they will undertake their "assessment". This is unlikely to happen until November / December

b) To see a private ( where I pay $350 per hour) Neuropsychology who will run some "tests".

The majority of the assessment I have seen examples of are really basic Andi want to analyse mental happiness rather than capacity or capability.

So my question is what are these "tests" and how conclusive are they and from these can they determine a severity / permanency / likelihood of recovery etc? Perhaps hoping for too much

These tests can not prognose recovery or time to recovery. The only way to treat concussion is by individual symptom. There are no treatments for concussion. Anybody who makes promises about treatment or recovery is outright lying to you.

Sorry, but only time helps with recovery other than a good diet and avoiding bad foods and over-stimulation. Quiet rest is the only proven therapy.

There is also this:

http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video...ye.tracker.cnn

fMRI, SPECT & PET scans can also diagnose post concussion syndrome depending on where the problem is.

fMRI, functional MRI is still used primarily for research. The brain mapping feature of fMRI is a much more expensive way to get the brain mapping information available from a qEEG. The qEEG comparative databases have been built over decades. fMRI is analyzed individually where qEEG uses computer software to greatly expand the data set. Finding a doctor who will use fMRI to accurately diagnose concussion is the biggest difficulty that, when added to the cost, makes it an unlikely diagnostic procedure.

SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography) and PET (Positron Emission Tomography) is another expensive way of mapping brain functions usually based on the metabolism of short life radioactive glucose. Both are better at excluding problems that diagnosing the conditions from concussion.

I have had all of the imaging processes except fMRI. I have also has MRI/MRA to image blood flow with greater definition.

The greatest amount of information came from the qEEG. Unfortunately, qEEG has still to overcome a negative article written in 1997 in the Journal of The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) and read by many neuros. Even though the negative article has been soundly discredited, the neurology profession has not had access to the plethora of articles written by neuroscientists in support of qEEG. As such, it is difficult to get a health insurance company to pay for it.

The best source of qEEG is in the neurofeedback industry. The important consideration to understand is which, if any, brain injury qEEG database is used at the neurofeedback clinic. Some clinics do not use the brain injury databases as the FDA has put strict limits on their use. If one can find a qEEG clinic with an MD on staff, there is a greater likelihood of getting a qEEG diagnosis for brain injury.