Current neurology and neuroscience reports
-
Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep · Oct 2012
ReviewSleep-disordered breathing and cognition in older adults.
Both sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and cognitive impairment are common among older adults, yet few studies have examined their relationship within this population to determine whether the effect of SDB on cognition is of a magnitude similar to or greater than that observed in younger and middle-aged adults. Here, we review the extant literature and report that studies are largely supportive of an association between SDB and cognitive impairment in older adults, particularly in the domains of attention/vigilance, executive function, and verbal delayed recall memory. ⋯ We propose a microvascular model in which chronic intermittent hypoxemia causes vasculopathy that ultimately is expressed as cognitive impairment in the older adult. However, it remains unclear whether the effects of SDB on cognition are the same regardless of age or whether there is a synergistic interaction between age and SDB.
-
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a common cause of neurological morbidity globally, and neurologic sequelae may occur even in the setting of mild injury. At present, the tools that guide diagnostic and prognostic evaluation of patients who suffer from TBI remain limited, especially for prehospital evaluation. Biomarkers of brain injury hold promise in facilitating early management and triage decisions in the civilian and military settings. The identification of biomarkers of brain injury may also be helpful in guiding end-of-life decision making and may facilitate the design of neuroprotective trials.
-
Brain injury is a dynamic process marked by an initial damaging insult followed by a cascade of physical, electrical, and metabolic changes capable of resulting in further patient disability. These subclinical changes should be detected at a time when therapeutic intervention is most efficacious and preemptive. ⋯ Intracranial pressure, continuous electroencephalography, brain tissue oxygen, cerebral microdialysis, cerebral blood flow, and jugular oximetry monitoring have been utilized to direct treatment of the critical ill neurologic and neurosurgical patient. Optimization of monitoring technique and protocol is an ongoing effort of intensivists in the field of neurocritical care.
-
In the past 15 years, the increased availability and use of continuous electroencephalography (cEEG) in critically ill patients has substantially changed our understanding of the injured brain. We have become increasingly aware that electrographic seizures in this population may have only subtle or no clinical signs and that cEEG greatly increases the likelihood of detecting these seizures. This review highlights the rationale behind using cEEG rather than routine EEG for detection of nonconvulsive seizures and nonconvulsive status epilepticus in critically ill patients and defines which patients are at greatest risk. It also describes other applications of cEEG in the intensive care unit and how it may play an important role in monitoring brain function.
-
Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep · Aug 2012
ReviewContinuous electroencephalography monitoring in neonates.
As more critically ill term and premature neonates are surviving their acute illness, their long-term neurodevelopmental morbidity is being recognized. Continuous monitoring of cerebral function, with electroencephalography or derived digital trends, can provide key information regarding seizures and background patterns, with direct treatment and prognostic implications. ⋯ Both conventional and amplitude-integrated electroencephalography can provide valuable data regarding the background trends. This review describes indications and methods for continuous electroencephalography monitoring in high-risk neonates.