CONTEXT Delayed cerebral vasospasm causes permanent neurological deficits or death in at least 15% of patients following otherwise successful treatment for ruptured intracranial aneurysm. Decreased bioavailability of nitric oxide has been associated with the development of cerebral vasospasm. OBJECTIVE To determine whether infusions of nitrite will prevent delayed cerebral vasospasm. DESIGN...

BACKGROUND Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is a neurological disease with a high mortality rate. Several serious complications frequently arise after successful surgery for this condition. Cerebral vasospasm, one such complication, occurs in 50 to 70% of SAH patients. These patients suffer neurological symptoms known as delayed ischemic neurological deficit (DIND); however, the effect of treatmen...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE We investigated the association of multisection CT angiography (MSCTA) and perfusion CT (PCT) for the characterization of vasospasm secondary to aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. MATERIALS AND METHODS Among 27 patients with symptomatic cerebrovascular vasospasm investigated by digital subtraction angiography (DSA), 18 underwent both cerebral PCT and MSCTA. For the rem...

BACKGROUND Cerebral vasospasm is one of the leading courses for disability in aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. Effective treatment of vasospasm is therefore one of the main priorities for these patients. We report about a case series of continuous intra-arterial infusion of the calcium channel antagonist nimodipine for 1-5 days on the intensive care unit. METHODS In thirty patients with an...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Tirilazad mesylate has been used in the attempt to prevent cerebral vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), although the actual targets of this agent in vivo have thus far been controversial. Chemiluminescence/high-performance liquid chromatography provided a new method for direct measurements of phosphatidylcholine hydroperoxide (PCOOH) and phosphatidylethanolamin...

Recent evidence supports the concept that cerebral vasospasm is involved in the pathogenesis of eclampsia. Magnesium, which has a beneficial effect in eclampsia, may act by opposing calcium-dependent arterial constriction, thereby relieving vasospasm. Magnesium may also antagonize the increase in intracellular calcium concentration caused by ischemia and thus prevent cell damage and death. Magn...

Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) often induces a long-term narrowing of the cerebral artery called cerebral vasospasm. Myosin light chain (MLC) in the spastic basilar artery was reported previously to be phosphorylated by Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent MLC kinase. Because Rho-kinase, which is activated by the small GTPase Rho, phosphorylates not only MLC but also myosin phosphatase at its myosin-bind...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The effects of aneurysm treatment modality (clipping or coiling) on the incidence of cerebral vasospasm and infarction after subarachnoid hemorrhage have not been clearly defined. We hypothesized that there may be a difference in angiographic and clinical vasospasm, cerebral infarction, and clinical outcome between patients undergoing clipping compared to coiling. METHO...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Delayed cerebral ischemia associated with cerebral vasospasm is a common cause of secondary neurological decline after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Triple-H therapy, induced hypertension, hypervolemia, and hemodilution, is often used to treat cerebral vasospasm. However, hypertensive treatment may carry significant medical morbidity, including cardiopulmonary...

Delayed cerebral ischemic injury secondary to vasospasm is a major cause of morbidity and mortality after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) (28). Currently, there are no medical treatments that consistently prevent or reverse cerebral vasospasm. Recent studies suggest vasospasm is the result of a multifactorial process leading to a functional imbalance in the cerebrovascular smooth muscle tone (9, ...