Christine MacDonald1, Ann Johnson1, James Sorrell1, Thomas Malone1, Dana Cooper1, Elliot Nelson2, Nicole Werner1, Joshua Shimony3, Matthew Parsons3, Abraham
1Neurology, Washington University, Saint Louis, MO, United States; 2Psychiatry, Washington Univeristy, Saint Louis, MO, United States; 3Radiology, Washington University, Saint Louis, MO, United States; 4Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Landstuhl, Germany; 5Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, Fayetteville, NC, United States; 6HQ, US MEDCOM, United States
The effects of blast exposure on human brain in the absence of head impact are unknown. Previous clinical studies, experimental animal models, and computational modeling of blast describe changes to cerebellum and brainstem. In a unique group of US military personnel with isolated, primary blast-related traumatic brain injury and no other insult, we found DTI abnormalities consistent with white matter injury in 75% of subjects specifically in the cerebellum. These findings support the hypothesis that there may be a specific contribution of blast to brain injury in the absence of head impact and that cerebellum may be particularly vulnerable.
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