BALTIMORE, April 28 (UPI) -- Better body armor to shield the chest, abdomen and back of soldiers could better protect their brains from mild "shell shock" injuries, U.S. researchers say.
Such injuries from the initial shock of exploding mines, grenades and improvised explosive devices now account for more than 80 percent of all brain injuries among U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, researchers at Johns Hopkins Medical Institute said.
"Protecting the body is absolutely essential to protecting the brain," neuropathologist Vassilis Koliatsos said.
"Blast-related injuries, including what we call blast-induced neurotrauma, are the signature medical events of current wars, and improvements to body armor in addition to helmet-wearing are likely going to be needed if we want to minimize their threat to our soldiers' health," he said.
Related
The study is believed to be the first to show widespread damage in the brain from mild blast explosions and was designed specifically to investigate the ill effects on the body of the primary blast of extremely fast-moving, high-pressure air, a Johns Hopkins release said Wednesday.
In mild traumatic brain injury, fluid pressure from the initial explosion could be rippling through a soldier's chest and lungs to the brain, by way of the major blood vessels of the neck and the cerebrospinal fluid, Koliatsos said.
"Our results should put military physicians in the field on notice that they need to really closely monitor veterans for mild traumatic brain injuries even in the absence of any lung injury," Koliatsos said.
"Regardless of what you call it -- shell shock, mild traumatic brain injury, or mild traumatic brain injury combined with post-traumatic stress disorder -- it may hide a serious neurological condition."
