Delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) is a severe complication following aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH), linked to poor functional outcomes and prolonged intensive care unit (ICU) stays. Timely DCI diagnosis is crucial but remains challenging. Dysregulated blood glucose, commonly observed after aSAH, may impair the constant glucose supply that is vital for brain function, potentially contributing to DCI.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Objectives: Delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) is one of the main contributing factors to poor clinical outcome after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Unsuccessful treatment can cause irreversible brain injury in the form of DCI-related infarction. We aimed to assess the association between the location, distribution, and size of DCI-related infarction in relation to clinical outcome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Signal complexity (i.e. entropy) describes the level of order within a system.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProceedings (IEEE Int Conf Bioinformatics Biomed)
December 2023
Delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) is a complication seen in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage stroke. It is a major predictor of poor outcomes and is detected late. Machine learning models are shown to be useful for early detection, however training such models suffers from small sample sizes due to rarity of the condition.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) is one of the main contributors to poor clinical outcome after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Endovascular spasmolysis with intra-arterial nimodipine (IAN) may resolve angiographic vasospasm, but its effect on infarct prevention and clinical outcome is still unclear. We report the effect of IAN on infarction rates and functional outcome in a consecutive series of SAH patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Painful, treatment-resistant wounds are prevalent among diabetic patients and significantly affect health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Topical treatments may help alleviate pain without risk of dependence or side effects. However, there is a lack of topical wound compounds targeting pain-specific receptors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDespite advances in gender equality, only 6% of German neurosurgical departments are currently led by women. With regard to their pioneering work and the importance of their role model effect, we aimed at reporting on the career pathways of the present and former female chairs of neurosurgical departments in Germany. We approached current and former female chairs in German neurosurgery and gathered descriptive information on their ways into leadership positions through structured interviews.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: The proportion of male neurosurgeons has historically been higher than of women, although at least equal numbers of women have been entering European medical schools. The Diversity Committee (DC) of the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS) was founded recently to address this phenomenon.
Research Question: In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to characterize the status quo of female leadership by assessing the proportion of women heading European neurosurgical departments.
Background: Cerebral autoregulation (CA) can be impaired in patients with delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). The Pressure Reactivity Index (PRx, correlation of blood pressure and intracranial pressure) and Oxygen Reactivity Index (ORx, correlation of cerebral perfusion pressure and brain tissue oxygenation, PbtO) are both believed to estimate CA. We hypothesized that CA could be poorer in hypoperfused territories during DCI and that ORx and PRx may not be equally effective in detecting such local variances.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Down syndrome (DS, also known as Trisomy 21) is a condition associated with abnormal neurodevelopment and a higher risk for sleep apnea. Our study sought to better understand and characterize the age-related developmental differences in sleep architecture and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) severity in children with DS compared to euploid individuals.
Methods: Retrospective review of polysomnograms in over 4151 infants, children, and adolescents in the pediatric sleep center at Children's National Hospital in Washington D.
Study Objectives: The use of positive airway pressure (PAP) in children is a complex process determined by multiple factors. There are limited data on the response of the pediatric population to PAP therapy at home. The goal of the study was to examine real-world responses using PAP home monitoring in children with obstructive sleep apnea.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF-Direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC) are replacing vitamin K antagonists (VKA) for the prevention of ischemic stroke and venous thromboembolism. We set out to assess the effect of prior treatment with DOAC and VKA in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). -Consecutive SAH patients treated at two (Aachen, Germany and Helsinki, Finland) university hospitals were considered for inclusion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Inflammation is increasingly recognized to be involved in the pathophysiology of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) and may increase the susceptibility to delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI). Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) has been shown to be elevated in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) after aSAH. Here, we determined MIF levels in serum, CSF and cerebral microdialysate (MD) at different time-points after aSAH and evaluated their clinical implications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Targeting a cerebral perfusion pressure optimal for cerebral autoregulation (CPPopt) has been gaining more attention to prevent secondary damage after acute neurological injury. Brain tissue oxygenation (PbtO) can identify insufficient cerebral blood flow and secondary brain injury. Defining the relationship between CPPopt and PbtO after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage may result in (1) mechanistic insights into whether and how CPPopt-based strategies might be beneficial and (2) establishing support for the use of PbtO as an adjunctive monitor for adequate or optimal local perfusion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) is one of the main determinants of clinical outcome after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). The classical description of risk for DCI over time is currently based on the outdated concept of angiographic vasospasm. The goal of this study was to assess the temporal risk profile of DCI, defined by extended clinical and radiological criteria, as well as the impact the time point of DCI onset has on clinical outcome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Rescue treatment for delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) after subarachnoid hemorrhage can include induced hypertension (iHTN) and, in refractory cases, endovascular approaches, of which selective, continuous intraarterial nimodipine (IAN) is one variant. The combination of iHTN and IAN can dramatically increase vasopressor demand. In case of unsustainable doses, iHTN is often prioritized over IAN.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Decompressive hemicraniectomy (DHC) is a potentially lifesaving procedure in refractory intracranial hypertension, which can prevent death from brainstem herniation but may cause survival in a disabled state. The spectrum of indications is expanding, and we present long-term results in a series of patients suffering from aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH).
Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of previously registered data including all patients treated for SAH between 2010 and 2018 in a single institution.
Objective: Outcome after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is highly variable and largely determined by early brain injury and delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI). Soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) represents a promising inflammatory marker which has previously been associated with outcome in traumatic brain injury and stroke patients. However, its relevance in the context of inflammatory changes after aSAH is unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Dysfunctional cerebral autoregulation often precedes delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI). Currently, there are no data-driven techniques that leverage this information to predict DCI in real time. Our hypothesis is that information using continuous updated analyses of multimodal neuromonitoring and cerebral autoregulation can be deployed to predict DCI.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) is a common complication of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage and contributes to unfavorable outcome. In patients with deterioration despite prophylactic nimodipine treatment, induced hypertension (iHTN) can be considered, although the safety and efficacy of induction are still a matter of debate. In this study, two iHTN treatment algorithms were compared with different approaches toward setting pressure targets.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: The recommendation of induced hypertension for delayed cerebral ischemia treatment after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage has been challenged recently and ideal pressure targets are missing. A new concept advocates an individual cerebral perfusion pressure where cerebral autoregulation functions best to ensure optimal global perfusion. We characterized optimal cerebral perfusion pressure at time of delayed cerebral ischemia and tested the conformity of induced hypertension with this target value.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose Of Review: Individualizing cerebral perfusion pressure based on cerebrovascular autoregulation assessment is a promising concept for neurological injuries where autoregulation is typically impaired. The purpose of this review is to describe the status quo of autoregulation-guided protocols and discuss steps towards clinical use.
Recent Findings: Retrospective studies have indicated an association of impaired autoregulation and poor clinical outcome in traumatic brain injury (TBI), hypoxic-ischemic brain injury (HIBI) and aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH).
We have previously demonstrated that deletion of activin receptor-like kinase 1 (Alk1) or endoglin in a fraction of endothelial cells (ECs) induces brain arteriovenous malformations (bAVMs) in adult mice upon angiogenic stimulation. Here, we addressed three related questions: (1) could Alk1 mutant bone marrow (BM)-derived ECs (BMDECs) cause bAVMs? (2) is Alk1 ECs clonally expended during bAVM development? and (3) is the number of mutant ECs correlates to bAVM severity? For the first question, we transplanted BM from PdgfbiCreER;Alk1 mice (EC-specific tamoxifen-inducible Cre with Alk1-floxed alleles) into wild-type mice, and then induced bAVMs by intra-brain injection of an adeno-associated viral vector expressing vascular endothelial growth factor and intra-peritoneal injection of tamoxifen. For the second question, clonal expansion was analyzed using PdgfbiCreER;Alk1;confetti mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study aims to investigate the characteristics of patients with mild aneurysmal and non-aneurysmal perimesencephalic and non-perimesencephalic subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH, pmSAH, npmSAH) with emphasis on admission biomarkers, clinical course, and outcome. A prospective cohort of 115 patients with aSAH (Hunt and Hess 1-3) and of 35 patients without aneurysms (16 pmSAH and 19 npmSAH) admitted between January 2014 and January 2020 was included. Demographic data, blood samples on admission, complications (hydrocephalus, shunt dependency, delayed cerebral ischemia DCI, DCI-related infarction, and mortality), and outcome after 6 months were analyzed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF