Acta neurochirurgica. Supplement
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Acta Neurochir. Suppl. · Jan 2005
Clinical TrialFuzzy pattern classification of hemodynamic data can be used to determine noninvasive intracranial pressure.
The authors previously introduced a method in which intracranial pressure (ICP) was estimated using parameters (TCD characteristics) derived from cerebral blood flow velocity (FV) and arterial blood pressure (ABP). Some results suggested that this model might be influenced by the patient's state of cerebral autoregulation and other clinical parameters. Hence, it was the aim of the present study to improve the method by modifying the previously used global procedure in certain subgroups of patients. ⋯ The class structure of the model facilitates nICP assessment in heterogeneous patient groups and supports a stepwise extension of the target patient group without affecting the former validity.
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Acta Neurochir. Suppl. · Jan 2005
Comparative StudyEndovascular treatment for elderly patients with ruptured aneurysm.
We report our results of endovascular treatment for elderly patients with ruptured aneurysm and discuss the indication for treatment. One hundred and thirty four consecutive patients with ruptured aneurysm treated in our institute during the last 4 years were retrospectively evaluated. Fifty eight patients were included in group A (over 70 years old), and 76 patients in group B (under 69 years old). ⋯ Patients with low Hunt & Kosnik grade seem to be most suitable for endovascular treatment. On the other hand, outcome of patients with poor preoperative grade was worse despite the less invasive nature of endovascular treatment. An improvement of outcome in grade III patients is desirable.
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Acta Neurochir. Suppl. · Jan 2005
Clinical TrialInnovative non-invasive method for absolute intracranial pressure measurement without calibration.
A new absolute ICP (aICP) measurement method was designed which does not need calibration. In this study we compared a new method with invasive aICP method in ICU on the patients with closed severe traumatic brain injury. A new method is based on two-depth TCD technique for aICP and external absolute pressure aPe comparison using the eye artery (EA) as natural "balance". ⋯ Fifty seven simultaneous invasive and non-invasive aICP measurements were performed in aICP range from 3.0 to 37.0 mmHg. Bland Altman plot of the differences between simultaneous invasive and non-invasive aICP measurements shows the negligible mean difference (mean = 0.94 mmHg) with a standard deviation of 6.18 mmHg. This validation study shows that it is possible to measure aICP non-invasively without calibration of the system with 95% confidence interval of 12 mmHg.
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Acta Neurochir. Suppl. · Jan 2005
Complement inhibition attenuates brain edema and neurological deficits induced by thrombin.
The present study examined whether thrombin activates the complement cascade in the brain and whether N-acetylheparin, an inhibitor of complement activation, attenuates brain injury induced by thrombin. There were three sets of studies. In the first set, rats had an intracerebral infusion of either five-unit thrombin or a needle insertion. ⋯ Behavior was also significantly improved by N-acetylheparin (P < 0.05). In conclusion, thrombin-induced edema formation and neurological deficits were both reduced by N-acetylheparin. This suggests that inhibition may be a novel treatment for the thrombin-induced brain injury that occurs in intracerebral hemorrhage.
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Acta Neurochir. Suppl. · Jan 2005
Clinical TrialMicro-endoscopic-discectomy (MED) for far lateral disc herniation in the lumbar spine. Technical note.
This study describes a new experience of the authors in the treatment of extraforaminal disc herniation via the micro-endoscopic far lateral approach to establish a less traumatic approach to extraforaminal disc herniation with less stay in hospital and less cost. Seventeen patients who underwent surgery for extraforaminal disc herniation were analysed and long-term follow up was done revisiting all of them in hospital. The results of surgical decompression via the micro-endoscopic far lateral approach were good in all patients with minimal discomfort. ⋯ Dysesthesia subsided after 2-3 weeks. Extraforaminal disc herniation can be diagnosed with the aid of CT scan and MRI. The minimally invasive surgical treatment via the micro-endoscopic far lateral approach, in our initial experience, has a high rate of succes.