Assessment of the Effects of Acute and Repeated Exposure to Blast Overpressure in Rodents: Toward a Greater Understanding of Blast and the Potential Ramifications for Injury in Humans Exposed to Blast

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) resulting from exposure to improvised explosive devices (IEDs) has fueled a requirement to develop animals models that mirror this condition using exposure to blast overpressure (BOP). En route to developing a model of repeated exposure to BOP we sought to initially characterize the effects of acute BOP exposure in rodents, focusing specifically on the levels of BOP exposure that produced clinical mTBI symptoms. We first measured BOP effects on gross motor function on a balance beam. Separate groups of unanesthetized rats were exposed (in different orientations) to 36.6, 74.5, and 116.7 kPa BOP exposure inside a pneumatically driven shock tube. Results demonstrated that rats exposed to 116.7 kPa demonstrated transient alterations or loss of consciousness indicated by a transient loss of righting and by increased latencies on the balance beam. The 116.7 kPa exposure was the threshold for overt pathology for acute BOP exposure with approximately 30% of rats presenting with evidence of subdural hemorrhage and cortical contusions. All animals exposed to 116.7 kPa BOP manifested evidence of significant pulmonary hemorrhage. Anterograde memory deficits were observed in rats exposed to 74.5 kPa facing the BOP wave and rats exposed to 116.7 kPa in the lateral (side) orientation. We next assessed repeated exposure to either lateral or frontal 36.6 kPa BOP in anesthetized rats, once per day for 12 days. Results showed that repeated exposure in the frontal, but not side, orientation to the BOP wave produced a transitory learning deficit on a Morris water maze task as shown by significantly longer latencies to reach the submerged platform in the second and third blocks of a four block session. Implications of these data are discussed in relation to the manifestation of mTBI in military personnel exposed to IEDs. Finally, we suggest that there are multiple types of long-term brain injury from blast exposure

Effects of Ethnicity and Message Framing on Colorectal Cancer Screening

We examined the relative effectiveness of gain- versus loss-framed videotaped messages designed to increase colorectal cancer (CRC) screening among low-income Caucasians, African Americans, and Mexican Americans. The participants were 164 people living in low-income neighborhoods. Participants watched either a gain-framed or a loss-framed videotape. They completed pre- and post-video questionnaires and received a take-home immunoassay Fecal Occult Blood Test (iFOBT) kit that they were asked to use and return by mail. Multivariate logistic regression analyses indicated that iFOBT return rates varied significantly by ethnicity (p < .002) and framing condition (p < .004). Screening kits were returned by 68.4% of Caucasians, 37.7% of African Americans, and 64.8% of Mexican Americans; 65.0% of participants who saw the gain-framed video returned the iFOBT kit, but only 50.0% of those who saw the loss-framed video returned the kit. Framing made a difference only for Caucasians, and the direction of the difference was opposite from the direction predicted. The return rate for Latinos was similar to that for Caucasians; however, Latino rates did not vary as a function of type of framing. It is possible that message framing must be specifically targeted if it is to be effective for Latinos and African Americans