Publications by authors named "Aine Brid Heffernan"
Mol Psychiatry
October 2024
Article Synopsis
- - Delirium is an acute neurological syndrome affecting cognition, impacting over 20% of medical patients and 50% of critically ill individuals, leading to significant distress, morbidity, and socioeconomic costs, particularly in the aging population.
- - The understanding of delirium's underlying mechanisms is limited, with a focus on neuronal dysfunction, but recent research highlights the role of glial cells—especially astrocytes, microglia, and oligodendrocytes—in its pathophysiology.
- - This review discusses how astrocyte-related issues, like disrupted brain metabolism and blood-brain barrier dysfunction, contribute to delirium, while also addressing the challenges of studying these mechanisms and the potential of advanced neuroimaging techniques for further insights
