Frontiers in neurology
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Frontiers in neurology · Jan 2018
Non-linear Dynamical Analysis of Intraspinal Pressure Signal Predicts Outcome After Spinal Cord Injury.
The injured spinal cord is a complex system influenced by many local and systemic factors that interact over many timescales. To help guide clinical management, we developed a technique that monitors intraspinal pressure from the injury site in patients with acute, severe traumatic spinal cord injuries. Here, we hypothesize that spinal cord injury alters the complex dynamics of the intraspinal pressure signal quantified by computing hourly the detrended fluctuation exponent alpha, multiscale entropy, and maximal Lyapunov exponent lambda. 49 patients with severe traumatic spinal cord injuries were monitored within 72 h of injury for 5 days on average to produce 5,941 h of intraspinal pressure data. ⋯ We found negative correlations between the percentage of hours with edge of chaos dynamics (-0.01 ≤ lambda ≤ 0.01) vs. high intraspinal pressure and vs. low spinal cord perfusion pressure; these findings suggest that secondary insults render the intraspinal pressure more regular or chaotic. In a multivariate logistic regression model, better neurological status on admission, higher intraspinal pressure multi-scale entropy and more frequent edge of chaos intraspinal pressure dynamics predict long-term functional improvement. We conclude that spinal cord injury is associated with marked changes in non-linear intraspinal pressure metrics that carry prognostic information.
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Frontiers in neurology · Jan 2018
Incorporating High-Frequency Physiologic Data Using Computational Dictionary Learning Improves Prediction of Delayed Cerebral Ischemia Compared to Existing Methods.
Accurate prediction of delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) can be critical for planning interventions to prevent poor neurological outcome. This paper presents a model using convolution dictionary learning to extract features from physiological data available from bedside monitors. We develop and validate a prediction model for DCI after SAH, demonstrating improved precision over standard methods alone. ⋯ Current DCI prediction tools rely on admission imaging and are advantageously simple to employ. However, using an agnostic and computationally inexpensive learning approach for high-frequency physiologic time series data, we demonstrated that we could incorporate individual physiologic data to achieve higher classification accuracy.
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Frontiers in neurology · Jan 2018
Extended Erythropoietin Treatment Prevents Chronic Executive Functional and Microstructural Deficits Following Early Severe Traumatic Brain Injury in Rats.
Survivors of infant traumatic brain injury (TBI) are prone to chronic neurological deficits that impose lifelong individual and societal burdens. Translation of novel interventions to clinical trials is hampered in part by the lack of truly representative preclinical tests of cognition and corresponding biomarkers of functional outcomes. To address this gap, the ability of a high-dose, extended, post-injury regimen of erythropoietin (EPO, 3000U/kg/dose × 6d) to prevent chronic cognitive and imaging deficits was tested in a postnatal day 12 (P12) controlled-cortical impact (CCI) model in rats, using touchscreen operant chambers and regional analysis of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). ⋯ Taken together, extended EPO treatment restores executive function and prevents microstructural brain abnormalities in adult rats with cognitive deficits in a translational preclinical model of infant TBI. Sophisticated testing with touchscreen operant chambers and regional DTI analyses may expedite translation and effective yield of interventions from preclinical studies to clinical trials. Collectively, these data support the use of EPO in clinical trials for human infants with TBI.
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Frontiers in neurology · Jan 2018
Clinical Trial of the Virtual Integration Environment to Treat Phantom Limb Pain With Upper Extremity Amputation.
Background: Phantom limb pain (PLP) is commonly seen following upper extremity (UE) amputation. Use of both mirror therapy, which utilizes limb reflection in a mirror, and virtual reality therapy, which utilizes computer limb simulation, has been used to relieve PLP. We explored whether the Virtual Integration Environment (VIE), a virtual reality UE simulator, could be used as a therapy device to effectively treat PLP in individuals with UE amputation. ⋯ The same user reported an increase in PLP and RLP across sessions. All participants who denied RLP at baseline (n = 3) continued to deny RLP at each study session. Conclusions: Success with the VIE system confirms its application as a non-invasive and low-cost therapy option for PLP and phantom limb symptoms for individuals with upper limb loss.
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Frontiers in neurology · Jan 2018
A Retrospective Study of Intracranial Pressure in Head-Injured Patients Undergoing Decompressive Craniectomy: A Comparison of Hypertonic Saline and Mannitol.
Objective: The impact of hypertonic saline (HTS) on the control of increased intracranial pressure (ICP) in head-injured patients undergoing decompressive craniectomy (DC) has yet to be established. The current retrospective study was conducted to compare the effect of HTS and mannitol on lowering the ICP burden of these patients. Methods: We reviewed data on patients who had sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and were admitted to the First People's Hospital of Kunshan between January 1, 2012, and August 31, 2017. ⋯ However, the between-group difference in the 2-weeks mortality rates was not statistically significant (2 [HTS] vs. 1 [mannitol]; P = 0.554). Conclusion: When used in equiosmolar doses, the reduction in the ICP of TBI patients achieved with 3% HTS was superior to that achieved with 20% mannitol after DC. However, this advantage did not seem to confer any additional benefit terms of short-term mortality.