Journal of clinical neuroscience : official journal of the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia
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Biography Historical Article
Harvey Cushing and some Australian connections: part 1 - early life and work.
Before World War 1 both the United States of America and Australia had rather rudimentary medical systems. Enterprising practitioners in both countries tended to look to continental Europe (especially Germany) and the United Kingdom as places of medical renown. The outbreak of World War 1 changed this but also enabled doctors from both the United States and Australia to work in military hospitals in Europe. ⋯ Examples of these were the experiences of Harvey Cushing, a burgeoning American neurosurgeon, which he recounted in his diary. His commentary merits close inspection and analysis. An account of some of Cushing's Australian connections post World War 1 is given in Part 2 (in press).
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Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the leading causes of death in people under 45 years of age worldwide. Such injury is characterized by a wide spectrum of mechanisms of injury and pathologies. Traumatic axonal injury (TAI), originally described as diffuse axonal injury, is one of the most common pathological features of TBI and is thought to be responsible for the long-lasting neurological impairments following TBI. ⋯ These models are designed to mimic as closely as possible the clinical condition of human TAI and have greatly improved our understanding of different aspects of TAI. The present review summarizes the most widely used experimental models of TAI. Focusing in particular on in vivo models, this survey aims to provide a broad overview of current knowledge and controversies in the development and use of the experimental models of TAI.
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Spinal stenosis refers to narrowing of the spinal canal with encroachment of the neural structures by adjacent bone and soft tissue. Surgical treatment usually offers greater pain relief and functional recovery than non-surgical treatment. Nevertheless, neurological complications from decompressive laminectomy have been reported to range between 1% and 33%. ⋯ The 17 patients with the increased TcMEP amplitudes had the greatest improvement 3 and 12 months postoperatively, based on neurological examination and the visual analog scale pain ratings (p<0.001). Intraoperative monitoring may allow rapid identification of potential damage of the neural structures and avoidance through corrective action. TcMEP and continuous EMG monitoring is an effective method for monitoring neural function cord during surgical decompression of the lumbar spine and may additionally give prognostic information for the assessment of patient outcome.
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Spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH) is a syndrome caused by low cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure due to leakage of CSF. Clinically, orthostatic headache, neck pain, nausea, emesis, interscapular pain, diplopia, dizziness, changes in hearing, visual blurring and radicular upper extremity symptoms are most frequently observed. ⋯ Lumbar puncture identified low CSF pressure and intrathecal gadolinium enhanced MR cisternography showed diffuse CSF leakage in the thoracolumbar region. The patient underwent epidural blood patching, which resulted in complete resolution of postural tremor within 2 months.
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Patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) who have deformities and vertebral fractures due to osteoporosis may require surgery. Spinal surgeons must become familiar with the vertebral morphometry of patients with SCD and to that aim we have examined the morphometry of the thoracolumbar spine in these patients. A cohort of 100 patients with SCD was examined using plain thoraco lumbar anteroposterior/lateral radiographs and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). ⋯ Our data highlight the differences in vertebral bone mineral density, anatomy and deformities in patients with SCD compared to healthy individuals. When considering surgical intervention for patients with SCD, it is important that pre-operative radiography and planning is undertaken, and that the surgeon is familiar with the geometry of the pedicles of the thoracolumbar vertebrae necessary for the safe insertion of pedicle screws. Osteoporosis must be considered when planning surgical interventions in these patients.