Life expectancy and causes of death in a group of head-injured veterans of World War I.

The life spans and causes of death were examined for a group of Bavarian veterans of World War I who had suffered head injuries and for comparable control subjects who had not. The occurrence of posttraumatic fits was a significant prognostic factor for a higher death rate after the age of 50 years. Other indicators of the severity of injury did not lead to differences in the death rates.

Analysis of brain abscess after penetrating craniocerebral injuries in Vietnam.

A population of 1221 patients from the Vietnam War with penetrating craniocerebral trauma was analyzed. Thirty-seven cases of brain abscess were documented (incidence 3%). This sequela occurred more frequently in association with extensive, deep penetrating injuries; deep, prolonged coma; cerebrospinal fluid fistulas; wound infections; facio-orbital cranial/air sinus injuries; and retained bone fragments.

Cerebrospinal fluid fistulas complicating missile wounds of the brain.

The records of 101 casualties of the war in Vietnam have been analyzed, with particular attention to missile wounds of the brain complicated by a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) fistula. Fifty-four developed CSF drainage at the wound site, 30 presented with rhinorrhea, and 23 with otorrhea. Fifty of the 101 men developed infection, an incidence of 49.

Evolution of craniotomy as a debridement technique for penetrating craniocerebral injuries.

A craniotomy debridement technique was recommended for penetrating craniocerebral injuries as early as 1940, in World War II. However, with due consideration for the bacterial contamination of penetrating injuries, the safety of this technique was questionable. The technique has been recommended in each succeeding war, but no data substantiating the safety or eventual sequelae have been available.

Language and motor disorders after penetrating head injury in Viet Nam.

Aphasia occurred in 244 of 1030 patients with head wounds, correlating with gunshot cause (p < 0.03) and initial loss of consciousness (p < 10(-6)). Aphasia disappeared within 10 years in 84 cases (34%).

A survey of public attitudes toward epilepsy in 1979 with an indication of trends over the past thirty years.

At 5 years intervals, during the past 30 years, the American Institute of Public Opinion has obtained answers to questions about epilepsy from representative members of the adult population throughout the United States. During this period, knowledge of epilepsy was found in 90 to 95% of the people interviewed. When those familiar with epilepsy were asked if they would object to their children playing with epileptics, the upward trend in those without objections from 1949 to 1979 was 57%, 68%, 67%, 77%, 81%, 84%, 89%.

Discrete regional analysis of norepinephrine, dopamine, choline acetyltransferase and glutamic acid decarboxylase in the brain of the newborn and pubescent monkey.

A method is described for the removal of discrete areas of the monkey brain. A detailed mapping of norepinephrine, dopamine, choline acetyltransferase and glutamic acid decarboxylase in the newborn and pubescent monkey brain is presented.

Effects of manipulation of the sensorimotor system on focal motor seizures in the monkey.

During focal motor seizures induced by injecting penicillin into the face-hand area of the right motor cortex of 24-month-old monkeys, the sensorimotor system was manipulated by three methods. Elimination, by a paralytic agent, of proprioceptive input from contracting muscles and joints did not alter the electrographic expression of the seizure or the pattern of local glucose utilization in cortical or subcortical components of the sensorimotor system. An overall increase in the rate of energy metabolism occurred in the paralyzed monkeys with electrographic seizures.

Propagation of focal motor seizures in the pubescent monkey.

The rate of local cerebral glucose utilization was determined for quantification of energy metabolism in macrostructures of the sensorimotor system during propagation of focal motor seizures in 24-month-old monkeys. The rate was measured in 4 control animals and in 4 monkeys each with seizures limited to the contralateral face, seizures of the contralateral face and upper extremity, and bilateral expression of seizures. Glucose utilization increased significantly, primarily unilaterally, with propagation.

Local cerebral glucose utilization in newborn and pubescent monkeys during focal motor seizures.

The [14C]deoxyglucose method was used to determine the rate of local cerebral glucose utilization (LCGU) in newborn and pubescent monkeys during focal motor seizures induced by injecting penicillin into the face-hand area of the right motor cortex. Seizures were studied in 3 newborn and 6 pubescent monkeys, and 3 newborn and 4 pubescent monkeys were used as controls. In controls, the pattern of glucose utilization within structures of the sensorimotor system was quite differenet at the two age levels; newborns showed far less activity, especially in the neocortex and striatum.

Cranioplasty: a review of 1030 cases of penetrating head injury.

A total of 491 cranioplasties performed in a population of 1030 cases of penetrating head injury are reviewed. The morbidity rate was 5.5%, and the mortality rate was 0.

Pathology of radiation damage to the normal brain of the monkey.

Model I: A portion of the monkey brain, the right occipital lobe, was exposed to 3,500 rads of orthovoltage radiation in a single dose. This demonstrated a) the delayed, 4 to 5 months, massive break in blood-brain barrier with extravasation of plasmatic fluid throughout the right hemisphere causing gross brain distortion, and b) after a protracted course, a remaining impairment in function extending beyond the irradiation lesion. Model II: The whole brain was exposed to supervoltage radiation in single doses of 1,000, 1,500, and 2,000 rads, respectively.

Effects of single dose supervoltage whole brain radiation in Macaca mulatta.

Three groups of four Macaca mulatta were exposed respectively to a single dose of 1000, 1500, and 2000 rads of 20 MeV whole brain radiation with one animal from each group and a control scheduled for sacrifice at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months. With 1000 rads there were no abnormalities. The characteristic lesions in the animals exposed to 1500 and 2000 rads were small foci of delayed radiation necrosis that in the acute phase were relatively large due to marked local accumulation of edema fluid and at later stages were decreased in volume and showed early mineralization.