Oxford BioDynamics and Holos Life Sciences will together develop non-invasive epigenetic biomarkers associated with sports-related concussions, Oxford said Monday.
The collaboration will leverage Oxford’s EpiSwitch platform to help determine and monitor systemic epigenetic changes and potential physiological reprogramming due to sports-related concussion. Based on pre- and post-concussion monitoring, biomarkers will be identified and evaluated to assist in the determination of changes in an individual’s epigenetic profiles, in response to a concussive event. EpiSwitch™ stratification will provide new insights and help to quantify the risk of prolonged effects of sports-related concussion, and potentially improve recovery and rehabilitation.
Holos will supply the participants’ blood samples, with OBD providing its proprietary EpiSwitch platform and methodology for the development, evaluation, and validation of epigenetic biomarkers. Biomarker readouts will be based on minimally invasive blood testing, said Oxford.
The analysis aims to identify a signature of EpiSwitch biomarkers to evaluate the impact of sports-related concussive events on individuals. Informative EpiSwitch biomarkers potentially could be monitored in relation to concussive events to inform return-to-play protocols and determine when athletes can resume activities.
Christian Hoyer Millar, Chief Executive Officer of Oxford BioDynamics, commented on the new front for the EpiSwitch biomarker platform: “Based on our previous studies and stratification results, we believe that we can make an important contribution to the analysis of sport-related concussions, help improve the rehabilitation protocols and directly assist individual athletes and their teams in their training planning.”
Scott Callender, Chief Executive Officer of Holos, said working together with Oxford BioDynamics on EpiSwitch platform will enable further understanding of both the immediate and long-term impact that sports-related concussions have on athletes. “The ability to identify objective epigenetic biomarkers has the potential to help evaluate sports-related concussions and may provide us with a tool to measure any long-term impact they have on individuals,” he said.