A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF BLAST-INDUCED NEUROTRAUMA AND BLUNT TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY REVEALS SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN INJURY MECHANISMS UPOREDNA ANALIZA BLAST NEUROTRAUME I TUPE POVREDE MOZGA OTKRIVA ZNA^AJNE RAZLIKE U MEHANIZMU POVRE\IVANJA

Blast-induced neurotrauma (BINT) is caused by complex physical environment generated by an explosion and diverse effects of the resulting blast. Clinical experience suggests specific blast-body-nervous system interactions, and resulting complex cellular and molecular mechanisms that can lead to long-term neurological deficits. While the pathobiology of BINT is not fully understood, the growing number of servicemen experiencing significant neurological deficits necessitates the development of reliable and injury-specific diagnostic and therapeutic measures. Aiming to identify the similarities and differences between BINT and blunt impact traumatic brain injury, we used well-standardized corresponding mouse models to analyze physiological (arterial blood oxygen saturation, heart rate, respiratory rate, and pulse distention), functional (motor performance, exploratory activity), and molecular (glial-acidic fibrillary protein) alterations that occurred 30 days after injury. Our results demonstrate that the generalizable consequences of a brain insult, such as decrease in motor performance and exploratory activity as well as stimulation of astrocytes, have differing temporal profiles, suggesting injury-specificity that should be taken into account when developing diagnostic and differential diagnostic methods. Correspondence to: Ibolja Cernak, M.D., Ph.D. Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL) National Security Technology Department, Biomedicine Business Area 11100 Johns Hopkins Rd Laurel, MD 20723; USA E-mail: Ibolja.cernak@jhuapl.edu Phone: +1-443-778-2637 Fax: +1-443-778-5889