MedTrace Logo

The Effects of Explosive Blast as Compared to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder on Brain Function and Structure

NCT00631436 · Status: UNKNOWN · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 180

Last updated 2011-07-21

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Brain injury from explosive blast is a prominent feature of contemporary combat. Although protective armor and effective acute medical intervention allows soldiers to survive blast events, a growing number of veterans will have disability stemming from blast-related neural damage. Soldiers also return from combat with psychological disabilities caused by traumatic war events. The clinical presentation of individuals with blast-related neural damage and post-traumatic psychopathology are markedly similar and thus a clear description of the direct consequences of explosive blast is complicated by the emotional and cognitive sequelae of psychological trauma. We will use sophisticated measures of neural function and structure to characterize brain injury from explosive blasts in a sample of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) National Guard soldiers who returned from deployment in the fall of 2007. Survey data gathered near the end of deployment indicated that over 50% of the brigade had been exposed to direct physical effects of explosive blasts. To fully characterize the effects of blast on the brain and differentiate them from post-traumatic stress disorder, we will contrast groups of soldiers exposed to blast and with groups experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder. This investigation will improve the characterization of blast-related traumatic brain injury, describe the essential features of the condition in terms of neural function and structure to inform diagnosis, and characterize mechanisms of recovery after blast-related neural injury to allow the creation of interventions that return soldiers to maximum levels of functioning.

Conditions

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Center for Veterans Research and Education

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Scott R Sponheim, Ph.D. · Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center

Eligibility

Min Age
20 Years
Max Age
50 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2008-04-30
Primary Completion
2012-03-31
Completion
2012-03-31

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

More Related Trials

Entities

Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT00631436 on ClinicalTrials.gov