Journal
JOURNAL OF SURGICAL RESEARCH
Volume 165, Issue 1, Pages 30-37Publisher
ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1016/j.jss.2010.05.055
Keywords
traumatic brain injury; inflammation; neuroinflammation; aeromedical evacuation; hypobaric; hypoxia
Categories
Funding
- United States Air Force/Henry Jackson Foundation [FA8650-05-2-6518]
- NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF GENERAL MEDICAL SCIENCES [T32GM008478] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Objective. To determine the inflammatory effects of time-dependent exposure to the hypobaric environment of simulated aeromedical evacuation following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Methods. Mice were subjected to a blunt TBI or sham injury. Righting reflex response (RRR) time was assessed as an indicator of neurologic recovery. Three or 24 h (Early and Delayed groups, respectively) after TBI, mice were exposed to hypobaric flight conditions (Fly) or ground-level control (No Fly) for 5 h. Arterial blood gas samples were obtained from all groups during simulated flight. Serum and cortical brain samples were analyzed for inflammatory cytokines after flight. Neuron specific enolase (NSE) was measured as a serum biomarker of TBI severity. Results. TBI resulted in prolonged RRR time compared with sham injury. After TBI alone, serum levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and keratinocyte-derived chemokine (KC) were increased by 6 h post-injury. Simulated flight significantly reduced arterial oxygen saturation levels in the Fly group. Post-injury altitude exposure increased cerebral levels of IL-6 and macrophage inflammatory protein-1 alpha (MIP-1 alpha), as well as serum NSE in the Early but not Delayed Flight group compared to ground-level controls. Conclusions. The hypobaric environment of aeromedical evacuation results in significant hypoxia. Early, but not delayed, exposure to a hypobaric environment following TBI increases the neuroinflammatory response to injury and the severity of secondary brain injury. Optimization of the post-injury time to fly using serum cytokine and biomarker levels may reduce the potential secondary cerebral injury induced by aeromedical evacuation. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available