Military medicine
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The peripheral auditory system and various structures within the central auditory system are vulnerable to blast injuries, and even blast overpressure is at relatively mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) level. However, the extent of hearing loss in relation to blast number and time course of post-blast is not well understood. This study reports the progressive hearing damage measured in chinchillas after multiple blast exposures at mild TBI levels (103-138 kPa or 15-20 psi). ⋯ This study demonstrates that the number of blasts causing mild TBI critically affects hearing damage.
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Blood is a precious commodity, with storage limited to 42 days under refrigeration. Degradative changes in red blood cells (RBCs) begin as early as 11-21 days after collection, and compromise their function. Materials that extend the life of RBCs will improve blood utilization in the field, as well as in hospital settings. Cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeONPs) are widely used in the materials industry to counteract oxidative stress and improve oxygen storage. We have previously shown that CeONPs extended the lifespan of cells in culture and counteract oxidative stress in vitro and in vivo. Here, we test the hypothesis that CeONPs extend the lifespan of RBCs in whole stored blood. ⋯ This work suggests that CeONPs may be a promising additive for extending storage and function of blood and blood products.
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Retracted Publication
Monitoring from Battlefield to Bedside: Serum Repositories Help Identify Biomarkers, Perspectives on Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.
Serum repositories are foundations for seroepidemiological data, revealing targeted information about morbidities and existing heterogeneity in human populations. With the recent technological advances, we can perform high-throughput screening at an affordable cost using minimal plasma. Monitoring brain health after an injury is critical since mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) and other neurological symptoms are under-diagnosed. Our objective in this study is to present our preliminary serological data from one of our ongoing studies on mTBI. ⋯ Biorepositories are powerful resources for understanding the spectrum of morbidity. Biomarkers serve as a valuable diagnostic and therapeutic tool.
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We examined antibiotic management of combat-related extremity wound infections (CEWI) among wounded U.S. military personnel (2009-2012). ⋯ Substantial variation in antibiotic prescribing patterns related to CEWIs warrants development of combat-related clinical practice guidelines beyond infection prevention, to include strategies to reduce the use of unnecessary antibiotics and improve stewardship.
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Although concussion continues to be a major source of acute and chronic injuries, concussion injury mechanisms and risk functions are ill-defined. This lack of definition has hindered efforts to develop standardized concussion monitoring, safety testing, and protective countermeasures. To overcome this knowledge gap, we have developed, tested, and deployed a head impact monitoring mouthguard (IMM) system. ⋯ While these data are useful for preliminary human tolerance limits, a larger population must be used to quantify real-world dose response as a function of impact magnitude, direction, location, and accumulation. This work is ongoing.