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. 2017 Sep;34(S1):S6-S17.
doi: 10.1089/neu.2017.5220.

Military Blast Injury and Chronic Neurodegeneration: Research Presentations from the 2015 International State-of-the-Science Meeting

Denes Agoston  1 , Peethambaran Arun  2 , Patrick Bellgowan  3 , Steven Broglio  4 , Robert Cantu  5 , David Cook  6 , Uade Olaghere da Silva  7 , Dara Dickstein  8 , Gregory Elder  9 , Elizabeth Fudge  10 , Sam Gandy  8   11 , Jessica Gill  12 , John F Glenn  13 , Raj K Gupta  13 , Sidney Hinds  14 , Stuart Hoffman  15 , Theresa Lattimore  10 , Alexander Lin  16 , Kun Ping Lu  17 , Joseph Maroon  18 , David Okonkwo  18 , Daniel Perl  1 , Meghan Robinson  19 , Charles Rosen  20 , Douglas Smith  21
Affiliations

Military Blast Injury and Chronic Neurodegeneration: Research Presentations from the 2015 International State-of-the-Science Meeting

Denes Agoston et al. J Neurotrauma. 2017 Sep.

Abstract

Blast-related traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a signature injury of recent military conflicts, leading to increased Department of Defense (DoD) interest in its potential long-term effects, such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The DoD Blast Injury Research Program Coordinating Office convened the 2015 International State-of-the-Science Meeting to discuss the existing evidence regarding a causal relationship between TBI and CTE. Over the course of the meeting, experts across government, academia, and the sports community presented cutting edge research on the unique pathological characteristics of blast-related TBI, blast-related neurodegenerative mechanisms, risk factors for CTE, potential biomarkers for CTE, and treatment strategies for chronic neurodegeneration. The current paper summarizes these presentations. Although many advances have been made to address these topics, more research is needed to establish the existence of links between the long-term effects of single or multiple blast-related TBI and CTE.

Keywords: blast injury; chronic traumatic encephalopathy; neurodegeneration; repetitive head trauma; traumatic brain injury.

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Conflict of interest statement

No competing financial interests exist.

Figures

<b>FIG. 1.</b>
FIG. 1.
Brain health across the military life cycle.
<b>FIG. 2.</b>
FIG. 2.
Readiness division.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Glenn J. (2015). Keynote address. Presented at the 2015 International State-of-the-Science meeting, McLean, VA
    1. Hinds S. (2015). Prevalence of TBI and chronic effects of blast-related trauma in the military. Presented at the 2015 International State-of-the-Science meeting, McLean, VA
    1. Da Silva U.U. (2015). Annual blast overpressure exposure of mortar and artillery men. Presented at the 2015 International State-of-the-Science meeting, McLean, VA
    1. Lattimore T. and Fudge E. (2015). Future policy considerations for managing chronic effects of TBI in service members. Presented at the 2015 International State-of-the-Science meeting, McLean, VA
    1. Hoffman S. (2015). VA perspective on current state of the science and policy considerations: Past, present, and future. Presented at the 2015 International State-of-the-Science meeting, McLean, VA

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