Prevention of delayed cerebral ischaemia after subarachnoid haemorrhage.

Physiological abnormalities are a worthwhile target

CSF opening pressure: reference interval and the effect of body mass index.

We prospectively recorded CSF opening pressure in 242 adults who had a lumbar puncture with concomitant measurement of weight and height. The 95% reference interval for lumbar CSF opening pressure was 10 to 25 cm CSF. Body mass index had a small but clinically insignificant influence on CSF opening pressure.

Haemostatic drug therapies for acute primary intracerebral haemorrhage.

Background: Because primary intracerebral haemorrhage (PICH) volume influences its outcome and a third of PICHs enlarge by a third within 24 hours of onset, early haemostatic drug therapy might improve outcome.

Objectives: To examine the clinical effectiveness and safety of haemostatic drug therapies for acute PICH in a randomised controlled trial (RCT) design.

Search Strategy: We searched the Cochrane Stroke Group Trials Register (last searched May 2006), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library Issue 2, 2006), MEDLINE (1966 to August 2005) and EMBASE (1980 to August 2005).

Interventions for treating brain arteriovenous malformations in adults.

Background: Brain arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are the single most common cause of intracerebral haemorrhage in young adults. Brain AVMs also cause seizure(s) and focal neurological deficits (in the absence of haemorrhage, migraine or an epileptic seizure); approximately one fifth are incidental discoveries. Various interventions are used in an attempt to eradicate brain AVMs: neurosurgical excision, stereotactic radiotherapy/'radiosurgery' (using gamma knife, linear accelerator or proton beam), endovascular embolisation (using glues, particles, fibres, coils, or balloons), and staged combinations of these interventions.

Bias from requiring explicit consent from all participants in observational research: prospective, population based study.

Objective: To evaluate the differences between adults who consent to participate in observational research, and those who do not.

Design: Prospective, population based cohort study.

Setting: Primary and secondary care throughout Scotland.

Spontaneous intracranial hypotension causing confusion and coma: a headache for the neurologist and the neurosurgeon.

Spontaneous intracranial hypotension presenting with confusion and coma has rarely been reported. A case is presented and the clinical features of spontaneous intracranial hypotension are discussed.

Internet resources for neurologists.

This fourth and final review in the JNNP internet series summarises the essential internet resources for adult and paediatric clinical neurology, neuroradiology, and neurophysiology. This article is freely available on the JNNP website (www.jnnp.

Scottish Intracranial Vascular Malformation Study (SIVMS): evaluation of methods, ICD-10 coding, and potential sources of bias in a prospective, population-based cohort.

Background And Purpose: The rarity of intracranial vascular malformations (IVMs) and the infrequency of their outcomes make large, prolonged cohort studies the best means to evaluate their frequency and prognosis.

Methods: The Scottish Intracranial Vascular Malformation Study (SIVMS) is a prototype prospective, population-based study of adults resident in Scotland and diagnosed for the first time with an IVM after January 1, 1999. We evaluated the design of SIVMS using 2 complete years of data for adults with arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) of the brain.

Prospective, population-based detection of intracranial vascular malformations in adults: the Scottish Intracranial Vascular Malformation Study (SIVMS).

Background And Purpose: Intracranial vascular malformations (IVMs) are an important cause of intracranial hemorrhage, epilepsy, and long-term disability in adults. There are no published prospective, population-based studies dedicated to the detection of any type of IVM (cavernous malformations, venous malformations, and arteriovenous malformations [AVMs] of the brain or dura). Therefore, we established the Scottish Intracranial Vascular Malformation Study (SIVMS) to monitor detection and long-term prognosis of people with IVMs.

The internet.

The growing use of email and the world wide web (WWW), by the public, academics, and clinicians-as well as the increasing availability of high quality information on the WWW-make a working knowledge of the internet important. Although this article aims to enhance readers' existing use of the internet and medical resources on the WWW, it is also intelligible to someone unfamiliar with the internet. A web browser is one of the central pieces of software in modern computing: it is a window on the WWW, file transfer protocol sites, networked newsgroups, and your own computer's files.

Prevalence of adults with brain arteriovenous malformations: a community based study in Scotland using capture-recapture analysis.

Objective: To conduct a population based study of brain arteriovenous malformation (AVM) prevalence.

Methods: Multiple, overlapping sources of case ascertainment were used to establish the point prevalence of brain AVMs in the adult population of the Lothian health board of Scotland. Patients were sought retrospectively from all local general (family) practitioners, neurologists, neurosurgeons, stroke physicians, the specialist AVM clinic at the regional neuroscience centre, and routine coding of hospital discharge data.

Observer agreement in the angiographic assessment of arteriovenous malformations of the brain.

Purpose: We aimed to determine intraobserver and interobserver agreement in the characterization of brain arteriovenous malformation (AVM) angioarchitecture on intra-arterial digital subtraction angiograms.

Methods: Five experienced interventional neuroradiologists independently reviewed 40 anonymized angiograms obtained at the time of first-ever AVM diagnosis. The allocation of the films to observers was balanced for AVM size and complexity.

A systematic review of the frequency and prognosis of arteriovenous malformations of the brain in adults.

By systematically reviewing the literature, we have found that there is very little information about the frequency and clinical course of arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) of the brain in adults because the methods of most studies have been flawed, and AVMs tend to be treated once they are discovered. The incidence of AVMs is approximately 1 per 100 000 per year in unselected populations, and the point prevalence in adults is approximately 18 per 100 000. AVMs account for between 1 and 2% of all strokes, 3% of strokes in young adults, 9% of subarachnoid haemorrhages and, of all primary intracerebral haemorrhages, they are responsible for 4% overall, but for as much as one-third in young adults.

Transverse myelopathy and radiculomyelopathy associated with pulmonary atypical Mycobacterium infections.

Myelopathy is a well recognised but rare association with Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, but has not been described with atypical mycobacteria. We report two cases of disabling myelopathy in association with pulmonary infection by Mycobacterium kansasii and Mycobacterium malmoense; the myelopathy is presumed to be a para-infectious phenomenon.