Traumatic Brain Injury Studies in Britain during World War II

As a result of the wartime urgency to understand, prevent, and treat patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) during World War II (WWII), clinicians and basic scientists in Great Britain collaborated on research projects that included accident investigations, epidemiologic studies, and development of animal and physical models. Very quickly, investigators from different disciplines shared information and ideas that not only led to new insights into the mechanisms of TBI but also provided very practical approaches for preventing or ameliorating at least some forms of TBI. Neurosurgeon Hugh Cairns (1896-1952) conducted a series of influential studies on the prevention and treatment of head injuries that led to recognition of a high rate of fatal TBI among motorcycle riders and subsequently to demonstrations of the utility of helmets in lowering head injury incidence and case fatality. Neurologists Derek Denny-Brown (1901-1981) and (William) Ritchie Russell (1903-1980) developed an animal model of TBI that demonstrated the fundamental importance of sudden acceleration (i.e., jerking) of the head in causing concussion and forced a distinction between head injury associated with sudden acceleration/deceleration and that associated with crush or compression. Physicist A.H.S. Holbourn (1907-1962) used theoretical arguments and simple physical models to illustrate the importance of shear stress in TBI. The work of these British neurological clinicians and scientists during WWII had a strong influence on subsequent clinical and experimental studies of TBI and also eventually resulted in effective (albeit controversial) public health campaigns and legislation in several countries to prevent head injuries among motorcycle riders and others through the use of protective helmets. Collectively, these studies accelerated our understanding of TBI and had subsequent important implications for both military and civilian populations. As a result of the wartime urgency to understand, prevent, and treat patients with TBI during WWII, clinicians and basic scientists collaborated on research projects that none of them would likely have pursued without these unique circumstances. Very quickly, there was a sharing of information and ideas that not only led to new insights into the mechanisms of TBI but also provided very practical approaches for preventing or ameliorating at least some forms of TBI. Investigators in Great Britain, in particular, pioneered accident investigations, performed epidemiologic studies, and developed animal and physical models that accelerated our understanding of TBI and had subsequent important implications for both military and civilian populations.