Articles: brain-injuries.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Jan 2001
The impact of hypercarbia on the evolution of brain injury in a porcine model of traumatic brain injury and systemic hemorrhage.
Carbon dioxide is perhaps the most potent available modulator of cerebrovascular tone and thus cerebral blood flow (CBF). These experiments evaluate the impact of induced hypercarbia on the matching of blood flow and metabolism in the injured brain. We explore the hypothesis that hypercarbia will restore the relationship of CBF to metabolic demand, resulting in improved outcome following traumatic brain injury (TBI) and hemorrhage. ⋯ Parenchymal injury was significantly decreased in hypercarbic animals: 3/10 hypercarbic versus 6/8 normocarbic animals showed cerebral contusions at the gray/white interface (p = 0.05). The hypercarbic group had significantly better behavioral outcome scores, 10.5, versus 7.3 for the normocarbic groups (p = 0.005). The decreased incidence of cerebral contusion and improved behavioral outcome scores in our experiments appear to be mediated by better matching of cerebral metabolism and blood flow, suggesting that manipulations modulating the balance of blood flow and metabolism in injured brain may improve outcomes from TBI.
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To examine the utility of neuropsychological tests in assessing college athletes prior to and following a sports-related mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI). ⋯ Neuropsychological tests are useful in the detection of cognitive impairment following mTBI. The test data appear to be more effective than subjective report of symptoms in differentiating between injured and noninjured athletes at 48 hours postinjury. Although significant individual variability existed, most injured athletes recovered within 1 week of injury. A battery of tests, rather than any single test, is necessary to capture the variability that exists among injured athletes.
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Folia medica Cracoviensia · Jan 2001
Clinical Trial[Experiments in evaluation of brain oxygenation and metabolism based on continuous bilateral SjO2 monitoring and metabolic glucose transformations in patients after severe cranio-cerebral injuries].
The study group consisted of 17 patients after severe cranio-cerebral injuries-in GCS below 8. Saturation in both jugular bulbs was measured by using fiberoptic catheters, the concentration of lactate taken from jugular bulbs was measured too. These values were compared to concentration in peripheral arteries. ⋯ Interdependence between the state of patient in GOS and variability saturation and concentration of lactate was showed. Desaturation occurred before the neurological sings of intracranial hypertension what had influence on way of treatment and diagnostics. Bilateral measurement of the saturation is more useful to make diagnostic unilateral measurement.
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Neurol Neurochir Pol · Jan 2001
Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial[Determination of melatonin concentrations in patients with consciousness disturbances after craniocerebral trauma. Preliminary communication].
The study was performed in cooperation of the Department of Neurotraumatology and the Department of Clinical Biochemistry Jagiellonian University in Cracow. In patients with central nervous system injury, diagnosed upon computerized tomography scan, melatonin levels were measured. The most frequent reason of damage was severe craniocerebral trauma. ⋯ The investigation could not demonstrate any correlations between consciousness disturbances after head injury and serum melatonin levels in the morning. To draw a final conclusion further experiments are necessary. They will help to explain the role of endogenous melatonin in patients after craniocerebral injury.
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Acta neurochirurgica · Jan 2001
Alterations of norepinephrine levels in plasma and CSF of patients after traumatic brain injury in relation to disruption of the blood-brain barrier.
In injured brain tissue with a disrupted blood-brain barrier (BBB) catecholamines such as norepinephrine (NE) are known to enhance glucose consumption and cerebral blood flow but may lead to an energy depletion increasing the risk of ischemia. Therefore it is of great interest whether the exogenous administration of NE used mainly to maintain an adequate cerebral perfusion pressure influences CSF NE levels or not, and whether elevated plasma or CSF levels of NE can influence the actual clinical condition. We addressed this issue by measuring the levels of NE in CSF and plasma and correlating them with the actual clinical condition of the patients. ⋯ Exogenous administration of NE seems to increase NE levels in plasma and CSF. However, in this group of patients with severe TBI there was no clinical evidence that exogenous administration of NE was detrimental to the traumatized patients.