Articles: traumatic-brain-injuries.
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Experimental neurology · Aug 2014
Review Comparative StudyIs neuroinflammation in the injured spinal cord different than in the brain? Examining intrinsic differences between the brain and spinal cord.
The field of neuroimmunology is rapidly advancing. There is a growing appreciation for heterogeneity, both in inflammatory composition and region-specific inflammatory responses. This understanding underscores the importance of developing targeted immunomodulatory therapies for treating neurological disorders. ⋯ The question therefore remains as to whether inflammatory cells responding to spinal cord vs. brain injury adopt similar functions and are therefore amenable to common therapies. In this review, we address this question while revisiting and modernizing the conclusions from publications that have directly compared inflammation across brain and spinal cord injuries. By examining molecular differences, anatomical variations, and inflammatory cell phenotypes between the injured brain and spinal cord, we provide insight into how neuroinflammation relates to neurotrauma and into fundamental differences between the brain and spinal cord.
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Clin Neurol Neurosurg · Aug 2014
Longitudinal incidence and concurrence rates for traumatic brain injury and spine injury - a twenty year analysis.
The reported incidence of concurrent traumatic brain (TBI) and spine or spinal cord injuries (SCI) is poorly defined, with widely variable literature rates from 16 to 74%. ⋯ A retrospective review of the NIS demonstrates a rising trend in the incidence of concurrent TBI and SCI. More investigative work is necessary to examine causative factors for this trend.
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Arch Clin Neuropsychol · Aug 2014
A prospective study of the influence of acute alcohol intoxication versus chronic alcohol consumption on outcome following traumatic brain injury.
The purpose of the study was to disentangle the relative contributions of day-of-injury alcohol intoxication and pre-injury alcohol misuse on outcome from TBI. Participants were 142 patients enrolled from a Level 1 Trauma Center (in Vancouver, Canada) following a traumatic brain injury (TBI; 43 uncomplicated mild TBI and 63 complicated mild-severe TBI) or orthopedic injury [36 trauma controls (TC)]. At 6-8 weeks post-injury, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of the whole brain was undertaken using a Phillips 3T scanner. ⋯ Using hierarchical regression analyses and generalized linear modeling, LAC and BAL did provide a unique contribution toward the prediction of attention and executive functioning abilities; however, the variance accounted for was small. LAC and BAL did not provide a unique and meaningful contribution toward the prediction of self-reported symptoms, DTI measures, or the majority of neurocognitive measures. In this study, BAL and LAC were not predictive of mental health symptoms, postconcussion symptoms, cognition, or white-matter changes at 6-8 weeks following TBI.
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Knowledge of relevant anatomy and underlying mechanisms of traumatic injury is essential for understanding the radiologic findings in craniofacial trauma and their clinical importance. Craniofacial anatomy is diverse, and as a result of this anatomic diversity, physicians from numerous different specialties scrutinize similar imaging sets, looking for different pathologic abnormalities within the same anatomic regions. Radiologists familiar with the chief concerns of this anatomically diverse region can help expedite the decision-making process by keeping those concerns in mind when they report their findings. This review provides an overview of situations wherein surgical management may be indicated.
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Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg · Aug 2014
The role of decompressive craniectomy in children with severe traumatic brain injury.
Severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains the leading cause of death in children. The present study analyses the outcome of children after severe TBI treated by decompressive craniectomy (DC) due to elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) in a single centre. ⋯ In children with refractory ICP conditions due to severe TBI, decompressive surgery might lead to a similar favourable outcome compared to children in whom ICP can be controlled only by conservative management. Timing of surgery depends on the neurological deterioration of the patients and a continuous ICP monitoring.