BACKGROUND Closed traumatic brain injury (cTBI) is a significant cause of mortality and morbidity in children. The natural course and extent of recovery from cTBI in children are poorly understood. Neuron-specific enolase (NSE), an enzyme detected in serum following structural damage of neuronal brain cells, appears to be a good marker for intracranial injury. However, to the best of the author...

OBJECTIVE To examine the clinical and neurological outcome of patients who sustained a severe non-penetrating traumatic brain injury (TBI) and underwent unilateral decompressive craniectomy (DC) for refractory intracranial hypertension. DESIGN Single center, retrospective, observational. SETTING Level I Trauma Center in Portland, Maine. PATIENTS 31 patients aged 16-72 of either sex who su...

BACKGROUND The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) provides a standardized measure of stroke severity and is frequently captured to assess 3-month outcome. Other outcome measures have been assessed for the relationship to dependence; a clinically relevant outcome. The relationship between NIHSS score and functional dependence is unknown. The purpose of this study was to assess th...

The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of the simultaneous clipping of bilateral middle cerebral artery aneurysms via the unilateral pterional approach in Asian patients. The study included 10 cases of bilateral middle cerebral artery aneurysms, including two males and eight females; the ratio of male to female patients was 1:4. The patients ranged in age from 44 to 67 years o...

OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to determine the impact of increasing doses of 2 prebiotic oligosaccharides and of an "all-human diet" on the intestinal microbiota of premature infants. METHODS Twelve premature infants receiving formula feedings were randomly assigned to receive either galacto-oligosaccharide (F+GOS) or a pooled concentrated donor human milk product containing human milk o...

BACKGROUND Serum albumin and prealbumin are both negative acute-phase reactants, and usually at low levels in stress. We aim to determine their predictive values for poor outcome of traumatic brain injury (TBI). METHODS A total of 326 patients of TBI were enrolled and followed-up by telephone 6 months after discharge. They were divided into a favorable group (GOS: 3 to 5) and an unfavorable g...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE We sought to describe the clinical outcome and results obtained in the endovascular therapy of ruptured cerebral aneurysms in the elderly over an 8-year period. We compared endovascular therapy results in patients aged > or =65 and <65 years. METHODS During 1993-1999, 52 patients aged 65 to 85 years (mean age, 71.5+/-4.7 years) were embolized with the use of Guglielmi d...

Background and Purpose—We sought to describe the clinical outcome and results obtained in the endovascular therapy of ruptured cerebral aneurysms in the elderly over an 8-year period. We compared endovascular therapy results in patients aged 65 and 65 years. Methods—During 1993–1999, 52 patients aged 65 to 85 years (mean age, 71.5 4.7 years) were embolized with the use of Guglielmi detachable c...