Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2017 Jun 8;2(3):CNC42.
doi: 10.2217/cnc-2017-0006. eCollection 2017 Nov.

Understanding blast-induced neurotrauma: how far have we come?

Ibolja Cernak  1
Affiliations
Review

Understanding blast-induced neurotrauma: how far have we come?

Ibolja Cernak. Concussion. .

Abstract

Blast injuries, including blast-induced neurotrauma (BINT), are caused by blast waves generated during an explosion. Accordingly, their history coincides with that of explosives. Hence, it is intriguing that, after more than 1000 years of using explosives, our understanding of the pathological consequences of blast and body/brain interactions is extremely limited. Postconflict recovery mechanisms seemingly include the suppression of painful experiences, such as explosive injuries. Unfortunately, ignoring the knowledge generated by previous generations of scientists retards research progress, leading to superfluous and repetitive studies. This article summarizes clinical and experimental findings published about blast injuries and BINT following the wars of the 20th and 21th centuries. Moreover, it offers a personal view on potential factors interfering with the progress of BINT research working toward providing better diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation for military personnel affected by blast exposure.

Keywords: blast injuries; blast traumatic brain injury; blast-induced neurotrauma; clinical research; experimental research; perspectives.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Financial & competing interests disclosure The author is thankful for the continuing support of the individual branches of the Royal Canadian Legion-Northwest Territories. The author has no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed. No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Figures

<b>Figure 1.</b>
Figure 1.. Acute/subacute and chronic response mechanisms to blast exposure as part of the blast-induced neurotrauma pathobiology.
<b>Figure 2.</b>
Figure 2.. Schematic overview of the relationships between the blast effects, biological response mechanisms and clinical manifestations as final consequences of the blast–body/head interactions.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Kelly J. Gunpowder: Alchemy, Bombards, and Pyrotechnics: The History of the Explosive That Changed the World. Basic Books; NY, USA: 2005.
    1. Zukas JA, Walter WP. Explosive Effects and Applications. Springer; NY, USA: 2013. p. 433.
    1. Dearden P. New blast weapons. J. R. Army Med. Corps. 2001;147(1):80–86. - PubMed
    1. Mohamed AK, Mostafa HE, Elbasuney S. Nanoscopic fuel-rich thermobaric formulations: chemical composition optimization and sustained secondary combustion shock wave modulation. J. Hazard. Mater. 2016;301:492–503. - PubMed
    1. Cernak I, Noble-Haeusslein L. Gulf War and Health, Volume 9: Long-Term Effects of Blast Exposures. Institute of Medicine. The National Academies Press; DC USA: 2014. Pathophysiology of Blast Injury; pp. 33–83. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources