Citation

Dal Cengio Leonardi A, Bir CA, Ritzel DV, Vandevord PJ. J. Neurotrauma 2011; 28(1): 85-94.

Affiliation

Wayne State University, Biomedical Engineering, Detroit, Michigan, United States; adc.leonardi@gmail.com.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, Mary Ann Liebert Publishers)

DOI

10.1089/neu.2010.1324

PMID

21091267

Abstract

Blast traumatic brain injuries (TBI) caused by improvised explosive devices affect a significant percentage of surviving Soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. The extent of a blast TBI, especially initially, is difficult to diagnose as internal injuries are frequently unrecognized and therefore underestimated, yet problems develop in time. Therefore it is paramount at this time to resolve the physical mechanism by which critical stresses are being inflicted on brain tissue from blast wave encounters with the head. This study recorded direct pressure within the brain of rodents (male Sprague Dawley rats) during exposure to blast. The goal was to understand pressure wave dynamics through the brain. In addition, we optimized in vivo methods to ensure accurate readings of intracranial pressure (ICP). Results demonstrate that proper sealing techniques lead to a significant increase in ICP values as compared to the outside overpressure generated from the blast. Furthermore, the values seem to have a direct relation to rat's size and age: heavier, older rats had highest ICP. Such findings suggest that a global flexure of the skull by the transient shock wave as an important mechanism of pressure transmission inside the brain.

Language: en