Journal of neurotrauma
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Journal of neurotrauma · Jan 2012
Social cognition impairments in relation to general cognitive deficits, injury severity, and prefrontal lesions in traumatic brain injury patients.
Impairments in social behavior are frequently found in moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients and are associated with an unfavorable outcome with regard to return to work and social reintegration. Neuropsychological tests measuring aspects of social cognition are thought to be sensitive to these problems. However, little is known about the effect of general cognitive problems on these tests, nor about their sensitivity to injury severity and frontal lesions. ⋯ In addition, the emotion recognition test was the only measure that was significantly related to post-traumatic amnesia (PTA) duration, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score, and the presence of prefrontal lesions. Hence, we conclude that social cognition tests are a valuable supplement to a standard neuropsychological examination, and we strongly recommend the incorporation of measurements of social cognition in clinical practice. Preferably, a broader range of social cognition tests would be applied, since our study demonstrated that each of the measures represents a unique aspect of social cognition, but if capacity is limited, at least a test for emotion recognition should be included.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Jan 2012
The cerebral extracellular release of glycerol, glutamate, and FGF2 is increased in older patients following severe traumatic brain injury.
Old age is associated with a poor recovery from traumatic brain injury (TBI). In a retrospective study we investigated if the biochemical response following TBI is age dependent. Extracellular fluids were continuously sampled by microdialysis in 69 patients admitted to our NSICU following severe TBI. ⋯ For FGF2 the mean microdialysate concentration was 43 pg/mL in patients ≥65 years old, significantly higher compared to all other age groups (p<0.0001). Increased concentrations of glycerol and glutamate would indicate more extensive damaging processes in the elderly. An increase in concentration of FGF2 could serve a protective function, but could also be related to a dysregulation of the timing in the cellular response in elderly patients.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Jan 2012
Intellectual ability 10 years after traumatic brain injury in infancy and childhood: what predicts outcome?
The long-term consequences of child traumatic brain injury (TBI) are poorly understood, but there are indications of ongoing deterioration in skills with time since injury. This study investigated outcomes up to 10 years post-injury, to determine the influences of injury severity, injury age, and environment. The study design was prospective and longitudinal. ⋯ Predictors of 10-year outcome included pre-injury and social factors, injury age, and family function. Child survivors of serious TBI are at elevated risk of cognitive impairment, with recovery continuing into the third year post-injury. However, between 30 months and 10 years post-insult, children appear to make appropriate developmental gains, contrary to the speculation that these children "grow into their deficits."