Journal of neurosurgery
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Journal of neurosurgery · Oct 2013
Plasma taurine as a predictor of poor outcome in patients with mild neurological deficits after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.
The object of this study was to determine the relationship between plasma taurine and subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) outcome. ⋯ Increased plasma taurine concentrations on admission predict a poor outcome in SAH.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Oct 2013
Nerve regeneration across cryopreserved allografts from cadaveric donors: a novel approach for peripheral nerve reconstruction.
The use of allografts from cadaveric donors has attracted renewed interest in recent years, and pretreatment with cryopreservation and immunosuppression methods has been investigated to maximize axonal regrowth and minimize allograft rejection. The authors wanted to assess the outcome of treatments of brachial plexus stretch injuries with cryopreserved allografts from cadaveric donors in nonimmunosuppressed patients. ⋯ Some variables may affect functional recovery after allograft surgery, and the outcome of peripheral nerve reconstruction is more favorable when patients are carefully evaluated and selected for the surgery. The authors demonstrated that using cryopreserved allografts from cadaveric donors is a valid surgical strategy to restore function of the damaged nerve without the need for any immunosuppressive treatments. This approach offers new perspectives on procedures for extensive reconstruction of brachial and lumbosacral plexuses.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Oct 2013
Prevalence of patient safety indicators and hospital-acquired conditions in those treated for unruptured cerebral aneurysms: establishing standard performance measures using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) patient safety indicators (PSIs) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services hospital-acquired conditions (HACs) are metrics used to gauge the quality of health care provided by health care institutions. The PSIs and HACs are publicly reported metrics and are directly linked to reimbursement for services. To better understand the prevalence of these adverse events in hospitalized patients treated for unruptured cerebral aneurysms, the authors determined the incidence rates of PSIs and HACs among patients with a diagnosis of unruptured aneurysm in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) database. ⋯ These results estimate baseline national rates of PSIs and HACs in patients with unruptured cerebral aneurysms. These data may be used to gauge individual institutional quality of care and patient safety metrics in comparison with national data.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Oct 2013
Effects of nandrolone on recovery after neurotization of chronically denervated muscle in a rat model.
Suboptimal recovery following repair of major peripheral nerves has been partially attributed to denervation atrophy. Administration of anabolic steroids in conjunction with neurotization may improve functional recovery of chronically denervated muscle. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of the administration of nandrolone on muscle recovery following prolonged denervation in a rat model. ⋯ There does not seem to be a functional benefit from nandrolone treatment following reinnervation of either mild or moderately atrophic muscle (related to prolonged denervation) in a rodent model.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Oct 2013
Increased expression of glutamate transporter GLT-1 in peritumoral tissue associated with prolonged survival and decreases in tumor growth in a rat model of experimental malignant glioma.
Gliomas are known to release excessive amounts of glutamate, inducing glutamate excitotoxic cell death in the peritumoral region and allowing the tumor to grow and to expand. Glutamate transporter upregulation has been shown to be neuroprotective by removing extracellular glutamate in a number of preclinical animal models of neurodegenerative diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Parkinson disease as well as psychiatric disorders such as depression. The authors therefore hypothesized that the protective mechanism of glutamate transporter upregulation would be useful for the treatment of gliomas as well. ⋯ These results show that increasing glutamate transporter expression in peritumoral tissue is neuroprotective. It suggests that glutamate transporter upregulation for the treatment of gliomas should be further investigated and potentially be part of a combination therapy with standard chemotherapeutic agents.