Journal of clinical neuroscience : official journal of the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia
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Historical Article
The head that wears the crown: Henry VIII and traumatic brain injury.
Henry VIII of England is one of the most controversial figures in European history. He was born on 28 June 1491 as the second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York and became the heir to the English throne after his elder brother died prematurely. A contradictory picture of Henry's character emerges from history: the young Henry was a vigorous, generous and intelligent king who saw early military and naval successes. ⋯ Several hypotheses have been put forward regarding his transformation from a renaissance king to a later medieval tyrant, including endocrinopathies, psychiatric illnesses and traumatic brain injury. In this paper we examine the historical evidence linking the change in Henry's personality and health problems to traumatic brain injury. To our knowledge this is the first systematic neurological study of traumatic brain injury in Henry VIII.
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Ependymoma is a rare primary brain or spinal cord tumor that arises from the ependyma, a tissue of the central nervous system. This study analyzed a large cohort of adult supratentorial and posterior fossa ependymoma tumors in order to elucidate factors associated with overall survival. We utilized the USA National Cancer Database to study adult World Health Organization grade II/III supratentorial and posterior fossa ependymoma patients treated between 1998 and 2011. ⋯ Our study showed that older patients, with supratentorial tumors, and high histological grade had an increased risk of mortality. A survival benefit was captured in females and patients with posterior fossa tumors. Adjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy did not confer a survival benefit among all patients, even after stratification by tumor grade or anatomical location.
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Mutations in the glucocerebrosidase (GBA1) gene, the most common genetic contributor to Parkinson's disease (PD), are associated with an increased risk of PD in heterozygous and homozygous carriers. While glucocerebrosidase enzyme (GCase) activity is consistently low in Gaucher disease, there is a range of leukocyte GCase activity in healthy heterozygous GBA1 mutation carriers. ⋯ Therefore, GCase activity appears to be a possible marker of heterozygous GBA1 mutation PD, and larger studies are warranted. Prospective studies are also necessary to determine whether lower GCase activity precedes development of PD.
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Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) is characterized by gait instability, urinary incontinence and cognitive dysfunction. These symptoms can be relieved by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) drainage, but the time course and nature of the improvements are poorly characterized. Attempts to prospectively identify iNPH patients responsive to CSF drainage by evaluating presenting gait quality or via extended lumbar cerebrospinal fluid drainage (eLCD) trials are common, but the reliability of such approaches is unclear. ⋯ Gait improvement was not observed until 2 or more days of continuous drainage in most cases. Symptoms improved after eLCD in 60% of patients, and all patients who improved after eLCD also improved after shunt placement. The degree of improvement after eLCD correlated closely with that observed after shunt placement.
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The aim of this study is to analyze the association of preoperative usage of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors with the initial presentation and clinical outcome of patients with chronic subdural hematoma (cSDH). Patients treated for cSDH between 2009 and 2013 at our institution were included in this retrospective case-control study. Medical charts were reviewed retrospectively and data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. ⋯ There was an increased probability of surgical reintervention in the ACE inhibitor group (12/53, 23% versus 19/153, 12%; p=0.079), especially in patients older than 80years (6/23, 26% versus 3/45, 7%; p=0.026). ACE inhibitors are associated with higher hematoma volume in patients with cSDH and with a higher frequency of recurrences requiring surgery (especially in the very old). We hypothesize that these effects are due to ACE inhibitor induced bradykinin elevation causing increased vascular permeability of the highly vascularized neomembranes in cSDH.