Blast (explosion) - Induced neurotrauma: A myth becomes reality

Accumulating data demonstrate that explosive devices cause more than 50% of all action-related war injuries, while recent studies provide evidence on the high percentage of civilian brain injuries inflicted by explosive munitions. Increased terrorist use of such munitions has served to magnify the importance of this problem. Although exposure to blast overpressure generated during an explosion has been considered to damage primarily organs containing air or containing structures with different densities (ear, lungs, intestine, etc.), recent clinical and experimental data show that blast injuries cause significant brain damage, leading to cognitive and/or motor system deficits. These findings challenge the dogma that neurologic impairments are rare and solely a consequence of air-emboli in cerebral vasculature.