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Published on: June 11, 2017
Physiological and pathological responses to head rotations in toddler piglets
Nicole G Ibrahim1, Jill Ralston, Colin Smith
1Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-6321, USA.
Journal of Neurotrauma
|June 22, 2010
Summary
Pediatric head injuries from rotational motion are severe. Moderate acceleration caused significant brain injury and EEG suppression in toddler piglets, indicating vulnerability not explained by size alone.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Neuroscience
- Pediatric Traumatology
Background:
- Closed head injury is a leading cause of death in young children.
- Inertial motion of the brain is a suspected cause of pediatric head injury.
- Understanding injury patterns in the pediatric population is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize the physiological and pathological responses of the immature brain to inertial forces.
- To investigate the relationship between inertial forces and neurological development.
- To compare injury severity in infant and toddler piglets.
Main Methods:
- Toddler-age (4-week-old) piglets were subjected to non-impact head rotation at low or moderate angular acceleration.
- Physiological (EEG amplitude) and histopathological (hemorrhage, ischemia, axonal injury) responses were assessed.
- Responses were compared between acceleration groups and with infant-age (5-day-old) piglets.
Main Results:
- Increasing angular acceleration and velocity led to more severe physiological and pathological responses.
- Moderate acceleration caused significant EEG amplitude suppression for 6 hours post-injury.
- Moderate acceleration resulted in more severe subarachnoid hemorrhage, ischemia, and axonal injury (beta-APP) compared to low acceleration.
- Toddler piglets (4-week-old) showed similar injury severity to infant piglets (5-day-old) despite larger brains.
Conclusions:
- The severity of pediatric brain injury from inertial forces is graded by acceleration and velocity.
- Moderate rotational acceleration causes significant acute brain injury in toddler piglets.
- Traditional scaling by mass and stiffness does not explain infant brain vulnerability to acceleration-deceleration injuries.
