Meningeal Damage and Interface Astroglial Scarring in the Rat Brain Exposed to a Laser-Induced Shock Wave(s)

In the past decade, signature clinical neuropathology of blast-induced traumatic brain injury has been under intense debate, but interface astroglial scarring (IAS) seems to be convincing. In this study, we examined whether IAS could be replicated in the rat brain exposed to a laser-induced shock wave(s) (LISW[s]), a tool that can produce a pure shock wave (primary mechanism) without dynamic pressure (tertiary mechanism). Under certain conditions, we observed astroglial scarring in the subpial glial plate (SGP), gray-white matter junctions (GM-WM), ventricular wall (VW), and regions surrounding cortical blood vessels, accurately reproducing clinical IAS. We also observed shock wave impulse-dependent meningeal damage (dural microhemorrhage)