The injurious environment generated by explosion is very complex where multiple blast effects often interact with the body and brain either simultaneously or consecutively. Thus, the resulting blast-induced neurotrauma is a unique clinical entity induced by systemic, local, and cerebral responses. Current experimental models of blast injuries used to study blast-induced neurotrauma vary widely, which makes the comparison of the experimental results extremely challenging and could lead to misleading results. The goals of this special forum are to: 1) address the main physical properties of blast and identify its main components a clinically relevant experimental model should reproduce; 2) describe the main functional neurological impairments observed in individuals exposed to blast, which a reliable experimental model should be able to reproduce; 3) provide an overview of the existing animal models and discuss their pros and cons; and 4) incorporate the information provided by presented articles in a consensus document providing a guideline for basic requirements for a clinically relevant experimental model of blast-induced neurotrauma.
The injurious environment generated by explosion is very complex where multiple blast effects often interact with the body and brain either simultaneously or consecutively. Thus, the resulting blast-induced neurotrauma is a unique clinical entity induced by systemic, local, and cerebral responses. Current experimental models of blast injuries used to study blast-induced neurotrauma vary widely, which makes the comparison of the experimental results extremely challenging and could lead to misleading results. The goals of this special forum are to: 1) address the main physical properties of blast and identify its main components a clinically relevant experimental model should reproduce; 2) describe the main functional neurological impairments observed in individuals exposed to blast, which a reliable experimental model should be able to reproduce; 3) provide an overview of the existing animal models and discuss their pros and cons; and 4) incorporate the information provided by presented articles in a consensus document providing a guideline for basic requirements for a clinically relevant experimental model of blast-induced neurotrauma.
