AIM To demonstrate that changes in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure in the cranial cavity and spinal canal after head elevation from the horizontal level occur primarily due to the biophysical characteristics of the CSF system, ie, distensibility of the spinal dura. METHODS Experiments in vivo were performed on cats and a new artificial model of the CSF system with dimensions similar to...

The goal of this study was to determine whether the severity of disruption of the blood-brain barrier during acute hypertension is similar in open and closed cranial window preparations. Intravital fluorescent microscopy and fluorescein-labeled albumin were used to evaluate disruption of the blood-brain barrier under control conditions and during acute arterial hypertension in 10 rats equipped ...

Background & Aims: Increase in abdominal pressure can lead to the so-called intra–abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) that is often observed during the first 24 hours after sever abdominal trauma and surgery. Measurement of the intra abdominal pressure through the bladder as a non-invasive measurement can provide a quick and accurate assessment of abdominal pressure changes. This study was per...

A new system for measuring the oxygen saturation of blood within tissue has been developed, for a variety of patient monitoring applications. A particular unmet need is in the central nervous system, and this project aims to devise a means for measuring blood oxygen saturation in the brain tissue of patients recovering from neurosurgery or head injury. Coupling light sources and a photodetector...

OBJECTIVE To identify factors of predictive value in the early diagnosis of traumatic intra-cranial haematomas (ICH). DESIGN A retrospective study of patients with positive exploratory burr hole findings of ICH. SETTING Jos University Teaching Hospital, Nigeria between January 1988 and December 1998. PATIENTS Two hundred and six patients. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The demographic data of pa...

A substantial body of evidence links differences in brain size to differences in brain organization. We have hypothesized that the developmental aspect of this relation plays a role in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a neurodevelopmental disorder which involves abnormalities in brain growth. Children with ASD have abnormally large brains by the second year of life, and for several years thereaf...

BACKGROUND Head injury represents an extremely common presentation to emergency departments (ED), but not all patients present immediately after injury. There is evidence that clinical deterioration following head injury will usually occur within 24 h. It is unclear whether this means that head injury patients that present in a delayed manner, especially after 24 h, have a lower prevalence of s...