Articles: brain-injuries.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Jul 1999
Sequential changes in glial fibrillary acidic protein and gene expression following parasagittal fluid-percussion brain injury in rats.
This study documents the regional and temporal patterns of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) RNA and protein expression after parasagittal fluid-percussion (F-P) brain injury (1.7 to 2.2 atm) in male Sprague-Dawley rats. In situ hybridization was conducted in 28 rats with a 35S-labeled antisense riboprobe to GFAP at 0.5, 2, and 6 hours and 1, 3, and 30 days after traumatic brain injury (TBI) or sham procedures. Immunocytochemical staining of GFAP was conducted in 20 rats at 1, 3, 7, and 30 days after TBI or sham procedures. ⋯ At 30 days, GFAP mRNA and protein expression were present within the deeper cortical layers of the lateral somatosensory cortex and lateral thalamus and throughout ipsilateral white matter tracts. These data demonstrate a complex pattern of GFAP mRNA and protein expression within gray and white matter tracts following F-P brain injury. Patterns of GFAP gene expression may be a sensitive molecular marker for evaluating the global response of the brain to focal injury in terms of progressive neurodegenerative as well as regenerative processes.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Jul 1999
Differential effects of traumatic brain injury on vesicular acetylcholine transporter and M2 muscarinic receptor mRNA and protein in rat.
Experimental traumatic brain injury (TBI) produces cholinergic neurotransmission deficits that may contribute to chronic spatial memory deficits. Cholinergic neurotransmission deficits may result from presynaptic alterations in the storage and release of acetylcholine (ACh) or from changes in the receptors for ACh. The vesicular ACh transporter (VAChT) mediates accumulation of ACh into secretory vesicles, and the M2 muscarinic receptor subtype can modulate cholinergic neurotransmission via a presynaptic inhibitory feedback mechanism. ⋯ An increase in VAChT mRNA was also observed. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated a loss of M2; however, there was no significant change in M2 mRNA levels in comparison with sham controls. These changes may represent a compensatory response of cholinergic neurons to increase the efficiency of ACh neurotransmission chronically after TBI through differential transcriptional regulation.
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Comparative Study
Comparative use of magnetic resonance imaging and electrophysiologic investigation for the prognosis of head injury.
To compare magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and electrophysiologic investigation as prognostic methods in acute head injury. ⋯ MRI scans performed early after head injury provide several indicators for unfavorable outcome. Electrophysiologic investigations add to this prognostic evidence. Both methods have comparably high specificity. However, because of the higher density of prognostic information obtained, MRI seems superior to electrophysiologic testing.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Jul 1999
Dysautonomia after traumatic brain injury: a forgotten syndrome?
To better establish the clinical features, natural history, clinical management, and rehabilitation implications of dysautonomia after traumatic brain injury, and to highlight difficulties with previous nomenclature. ⋯ Dysautonomia is a distinct clinical syndrome, associated with severe diffuse axonal injury and preadmission hypoxia. It is associated with a poorer functional outcome; however, both the controls and patients with dysautonomia show a similar magnitude of improvement as measured by changes in FIM scores. It is argued that delayed recognition and treatment of dysautonomia results in a preventable increase in morbidity.
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Eur J Cardiothorac Surg · Jul 1999
Cytokine and S100B levels in paediatric patients undergoing corrective cardiac surgery with or without total circulatory arrest.
Neurological damage following cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is difficult to objectively evaluate in infants. In adults, serum elevations of astroglial S100B correlate with proven brain injury independent of operative temperature. The deleterious effects of inflammatory cytokines, generated during CPB, on the brain have not been studied in infants using S100B as a marker for cerebral injury. ⋯ (1) The TCA group have prolonged rises of IL-6, IL-8 and S100B. (2) The TCA group generates significantly lower complement. (3) Astroglial injury, seen after surgery, may, in part, be cytokine mediated.