Neurological research
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Neurological research · Apr 2011
ReviewNational Institutes of Health Chiari Research Conference: state of the research and new directions.
To establish the current Chiari knowledge base and develop recommendations for future research. ⋯ Implementation of the recommendations developed at the conference would not only further expand the current understanding of the condition, but would likely have a significant, positive impact on patient experiences and outcomes.
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Neurological research · Mar 2011
Case Reports Clinical TrialPreliminary experience with the use of self-expanding stent as a thrombectomy device in ischemic stroke.
Stent-based techniques may allow rapid arterial recanalization in acute stroke. We present our experience using a self-expanding stent to achieve a transient bypass, and then as a thrombectomy device, with no permanent stent implantation, in acute stroke. ⋯ The presented approach allowed three desired effects: rapid endovascular revascularization, clot removal, and no need of leaving a permanent implant. In our preliminary experience this simple and rapid stent-based mechanical thrombectomy technique has had an unprecedented success rate.
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Neurological research · Mar 2011
Endothelin and the neurovascular unit in pediatric traumatic brain injury.
This study characterized the association between endothelin-1, cerebral hemodynamics, and histopathology after fluid percussion brain injury in the newborn pig. ⋯ These data indicate that fluid percussion injury-induced changes in cerebral hemodynamics are associated with neuronal damage and that endothelin-1 contributes to fluid percussion injury-induced histopathologic changes.
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Neurological research · Mar 2011
Comparative StudyEndothelin-1 is upregulated after traumatic brain injury: a cross-species, cross-model analysis.
This work was designed to compare levels of endothelin-1 following brain injury in both rat and porcine models of head injury. In a broader sense, this work also determines the feasibility of testing traumatic brain injury-related phenomenology across species and models. ⋯ These results show that endothelin-1 peptide concentration elevation is a consistent finding between rat and pig and between weight acceleration and fluid percussion models of traumatic brain injury. This suggests that endothelin-1 elevation is not only a conserved phenomenon in different models of traumatic brain injury, but that it is a likely target for understanding the observed enhanced vascular response to traumatic brain injury and ultimately developing strategies to improve outcome following traumatic brain injury.
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Neurological research · Mar 2011
Endothelin receptor A antagonism reduces the extent of diffuse axonal injury in a rodent model of traumatic brain injury.
While endothelin-1 and its receptors have traditionally been associated with mediating vasoreactivity, we have recently shown that the vast majority of endothelin receptor A expression following traumatic brain injury is localized within the neuron. While it has been suggested that endothelin receptor A plays a role in influencing neuronal integrity, the significance of neuronally expressed endothelin receptor A remains unclear. One report suggests that endothelin-1 signaling mediates diffuse axonal injury. Therefore, this work sought to determine whether treatment with BQ-123, a selective endothelin receptor A antagonist, diminishes the extent of diffuse axonal injury following trauma. ⋯ The results show that endothelin receptor A antagonism reduced the extent of diffuse axonal injury, demonstrating a potential influence of the endothelin system on the intra-axonal cascade of molecular events underlying diffuse axonal injury.