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Júlio Leonardo B. Pereira
Phone: (+1) 424-2301706
Linkedin:http://www.linkedin.com/in/juliommais
Site: www.neurocirurgiabr.com
Júlio Leonardo B. Pereira
Phone: (+1) 424-2301706
Linkedin:http://www.linkedin.com/in/juliommais
Site: www.neurocirurgiabr.com
Júlio Leonardo B. Pereira
Phone: (+1) 424-2301706
Linkedin:http://www.linkedin.com/in/juliommais
Site: www.neurocirurgiabr.com
Neurology is traditionally recognized as primarily an outpatient or consultative specialty, usually attracting candidates whose main focus may not necessarily be the management of complex critically ill patients or the performance of invasive procedures. However, the advent of modern mechanical ventilation and, more recently, effective therapies for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke and other neurologic catastrophes is bringing about a paradigm shift, with neurologists increasingly assuming a more aggressive attitude and rapid response to frequently disabling and often fatal pathologies.
Júlio Leonardo B. Pereira
Phone: (+1) 424-2301706
Linkedin:http://www.linkedin.com/in/juliommais
Site: www.neurocirurgiabr.com
Júlio Leonardo B. Pereira
Phone: (+1) 424-2301706
Linkedin:http://www.linkedin.com/in/juliommais
Site: www.neurocirurgiabr.com
Júlio Leonardo B. Pereira
Phone: (+1) 424-2301706
Linkedin:http://www.linkedin.com/in/juliommais
Site: www.neurocirurgiabr.com
Infrascan out of Philly, PA has received FDA approval for its next generation Infrascanner, the Model 2000, a device for detecting intracranial hematomas. The Infrascanner is meant to be a simple, easy-to-use screening tool which can be used to identify high-risk patients which should undergo further work-up including CT. The handheld device uses near-infrared (NIR) technology to detect intracranial bleeding.
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Abstract
The purpose of this multicenter observational clinical study was to evaluate the performance of a near-infrared (NIR)-based, non-invasive, portable device to screen for traumatic intracranial hematomas. Five trauma centers collected data using the portable NIR device at the time a computed tomography (CT) scan was performed to evaluate a suspected traumatic brain injury (TBI). The CT scans were read by an independent neuroradiologist who was blinded to the NIR measurements. Of 431 patients enrolled, 365 patients were included in the per-protocol population analyzed. Of the 365 patients, 96 were determined by CT scan to have intracranial hemorrhages of various sizes, depths, and anatomical locations. The NIR device demonstrated sensitivity of 88% (95% confidence interval [CI] 74.9,95.0%), and specificity of 90.7% (95% CI 86.4,93.7%), in detecting the 50 intracranial hematomas that were large enough to be clinically important (larger than 3.5 mL in volume), and that were less than 2.5 cm from the surface of the brain. For all 96 cases with intracranial hemorrhage, regardless of size and type of hemorrhage, the sensitivity was 68.7% (CI 58.3,77.6%), and specificity was 90.7% (CI 86.4,93.7%). These results confirm the results of previous studies that indicate that a NIR-based portable device can reliably screen for intracranial hematomas that are superficial and of a size likely to be of clinical importance. The NIR device cannot replace CT scanning in the diagnosis of TBI, but the device might be useful to supplement clinical information used to triage TBI patients, and in situations in which CT scanning is not readily available.
Stroke increases the risk of dementias, including Alzheimer disease (AD), but it is unknown whether persons with AD have a higher risk of strokes. We investigated whether noninstitutionalized persons with AD were more likely to experience incident stroke than persons without AD and whether there are differences in the incidence of ischemic or hemorrhagic strokes.
Methods:We performed a register-based matched cohort study including all community-dwelling persons with verified clinical diagnosis of AD, residing in Finland on December 31, 2005, and a single age-, sex-, and region of residence–matched comparison person without AD for each individual with AD (n = 56,186, mean age 79.6 [SD 6.9] years). Persons with previous strokes and their matched participants were excluded, leaving 50,808 individuals with 2,947 incident strokes occurring between January 1, 2006, and December 31, 2009. Diagnosis of AD was based on prescription reimbursement register and diagnosis of stroke on hospital discharge register of Finland.
Results:AD dementia was not associated with risk of all strokes or ischemic strokes, but the risk of hemorrhagic strokes was higher among persons with AD (adjusted hazard ratio [95% confidence interval] 1.34 [1.12–1.61]). When the associations were analyzed according to age groups, AD was associated with higher risk of all strokes, regardless of etiology, in the 2 youngest age groups, but not in the older groups. Similar associations were observed when the results were categorized according to age at diagnosis.
Conclusions:Our findings suggest that persons with AD dementia, especially younger patients, have higher risk of hemorrhagic strokes.
Recent publications show that using imagery instructions, brain activation patterns indicating consciousness can be found in approximately 10% of patients with unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS; previously called vegetative state). It is possible, however, that patients who cannot follow instructions (because of limited memory/attention capacities, for example) are nevertheless conscious and retain emotional abilities to feel pain and pleasure. The aim of this study was to assess residual affective consciousness in a specific network of brain structures, the so-called pain matrix (PM) of the brain.
Methods:We examined 44 carefully diagnosed UWS patients at 2 imaging centers. fMRI was used to investigate the brain hemodynamic responses to (a) imagery instructions, and (b) pain cries as opposed to neutral human vocalizations.
Results:In line with the data of other groups, consistent responses to imagery instructions were obtained in 5 patients. In contrast, the PM was activated by pain cries in 24 patients. The PM consists of a sensory subsystem, which underlies pain sensation, and an affective subsystem, which underlies the characteristic aversive emotional tone of pain. The former was activated in 34% of patients, the latter in 30% of patients.
Conclusion:Although there is debate about whether patients with UWS can perceive their own pain, our data indicate that many of them respond to the signals of pain in others. One can speculate that "affective consciousness" can remain even in patients with very severe brain damage who have no capacity for cognition.
To determine the reliability and therapeutic impact of standardized cerebral CT evaluation and quantification of early ischemic changes (EIC) with the Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (ASPECTS) by stroke neurologists in the Stroke Eastern Saxony Network (SOS-NET), which provides telemedical consultations for patients with acute ischemic stroke.
Methods:Two neuroradiologists re-evaluated all CT scans of consecutive SOS-NET patients in 2009 blinded to clinical information providing reference standard. We defined discrepant CT findings as all false-positive or false-negative EIC and brain pathology findings and ASPECTS deviations >1 point. We subsequently discussed the clinical impact of discrepant CT findings unblinded to clinical information. Weighted kappa (w) statistic was used to determine the interobserver agreement for ASPECTS.
Results:Of 582 patients, complete imaging data were available for 536 patients (351 cerebral ischemic events, 105 primary intracranial hemorrhages, and 80 stroke mimics). The neuroradiologists detected discrepant CT findings in 43 patients (8.0%) that were rated as clinically relevant in 9 patients (1.7%). Stroke neurologists recommended IV thrombolysis in 8 patients despite extensive EIC (ASPECTS ≤5). One of these patients had symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage. In 1 nonthrombolyzed patient, the stroke neurologist missed subdural hematoma. The interobserver agreement on ASPECTS between stroke neurologists and expert readers was substantial (w = 0.62; 95% confidence interval 0.54–0.71).
Conclusions:Clinically relevant misinterpretation of the CT scans was rare in our acute telestroke service. ASPECTS is a reliable tool to assess the extent of EIC by stroke neurologists in telemedicine in real time.
Treating neurologic disorders with noninvasive brain stimulation techniques has always been one of the major goals of neurophysiology and to a broad extent, of modern neurology and psychiatry. The first attempts date back at least to 50 ad, when the Roman physician Scribonius Largus used electric currents from torpedo fishes to treat headaches.1 Unfortunately, these initial efforts sank into oblivion until the 18th century. In the last 2 decades, thanks to technological improvements, noninvasive transcranial stimulation is re-emerging as an appealing and promising approach to be used in different fields of neurology and neuroscience, with the number of related publications increasing exponentially in both clinical and basic science studies. This new age is particularly due to the broad-spectrum use of 2 techniques called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Despite the undoubted importance of conventional brain stimulation methods such as deep brain stimulation (DBS) or electroconvulsive therapy, TMS and tDCS present many favorable advantages both in terms of noninvasiveness and safety, with minimal or no side effects.
Nature Reviews Neuroscience 14, 77 (2013). doi:10.1038/nrn3425
Author: Rachel Jones
Childhood trauma can predispose people with certain genotypes to disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder in adulthood. Now, Klengel et al. show that a particular polymorphism in a gene involved in glucocorticoid regulation can interact with childhood trauma, leading to lasting epigenetic changes in the stress response system.
Healthcare facilities are the most complex and mutable of all building types, and enhanced collaboration between medical professionals and designers in facility research is needed. Architects have long been aware of this need and sought information from medical staff. Recently, they have supplemented this information by utilising data from research addressing the impact of the physical environment. The number of studies in this new field, however, is limited due in part to the lack of champions working within healthcare environments to facilitate and participate in the activities of design researchers.
The process of using research in the design of environments has been labelled 'evidence-based design' (EBD), a term that came into use in the 1990s inspired by 'evidence-based medicine'. EBD seeks to inform design decisions in order to make the resulting building maximally appropriate for the occupants. While several healthcare organisations have recognised the importance of using research in...