Continuous monitoring of intracranial compliance after severe head injury: relation to data quality, intracranial pressure and brain tissue PO2.

The objective of the present study was to test the new continuous intracranial compliance (cICC) device in terms of data quality, relationship to intracranial pressure (ICP) and brain tissue oxygenation (PtiO2). A total of 10 adult patients with severe traumatic brain injury underwent computerized monitoring of arterial blood pressure, ICP, cerebral perfusion pressure, end-tidal CO2, cICC and PtiO2 providing a total of 1726 h of data. (1) The data quality assessed by calculating the 'time of good data quality' (TGDQ, %), i.

Blood pressure lowering and renin-angiotensin system blockade.

Angiotensin II (ANG II), the main effector peptide of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), is implicated in the development of vascular, cardiac and renal pathologies. Considered to be central to the whole cardiovascular continuum, recent investigations have also established a role for ANG II in the recovery of the brain after cerebral insult. ANG II exerts its actions through two receptors: ANG II type 1 (AT1) and type 2 (AT2).

Modulation of host immune responses by nematode cystatins.

Parasitic nematodes, living in the intestinal tract or within tissues of theirs hosts, are constantly exposed to an array of immune effector mechanisms. One strategy to cope with the immune response is the release of immunomodulatory components that block effector mechanisms or interact with the cytokine network. Among the secreted nematode immunomodulators, cysteine protease inhibitors (cystatins) are shown to be of major importance.

Lithium augmentation therapy in refractory depression: clinical evidence and neurobiological mechanisms.

Objective: This systematic review examines the evidence and discusses the clinical relevance of lithium augmentation as a treatment strategy for refractory major depressive episodes. It also examines hypotheses on the mode of action of lithium augmentation, with a focus on serotonin (5-HT) and neuroendocrine systems, and proposes recommendations for future research.

Method: We searched the Medline computer database and the Cochrane Library for relevant original studies published in English from January 1966 to February 2003.

Control over response priming in visuomotor processing: a lateralized event-related potential study.

In a typical Simon task responses are faster when the task-irrelevant stimulus location corresponds to the response location than when it does not. In the case of noncorrespondence it is assumed that externally triggered and internally selected responses are in conflict. Crucially, such conflict appears to be subject to contextual modulations as induced by the immediately preceding event, i.

Development and evaluation of a three-dimensional hyperthermia applicator with Water-COated Antennas (WACOA).

A novel twelve-channel three-dimensional (3-D) hyperthermia applicator has been developed and evaluated, which consists of twelve separate WAter COated Antenna (WACOA) modules. The modules are arranged in three transversal antenna rings (sub-arrays) and are placed into an acrylic applicator frame as cartridge-like elements in a staggered arrangement. The operating frequency is 100 MHz.

Gastric cancer.

The past decade has seen many advances in knowledge about gastric cancer. Notably, tumour biology and lymphatic spread are now better understood, and treatment by surgical and medical oncologists has become more standardised. Since refrigerators have replaced other methods of food conservation, Helicobacter pylori has become a factor in the cause of gastric cancer.

Drug interactions with angiotensin receptor blockers: a comparison with other antihypertensives.

The ever-increasing introduction of new therapeutic agents means that the potential for drug interactions is likely to escalate. Numerous different classes of drugs are currently used to treat hypertension. The angiotensin receptor blockers offer one of the newest approaches to the management of patients with high blood pressure.

Sequence learning in Parkinson's disease: the effect of spatial stimulus-response compatibility.

Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) have repeatedly demonstrated reduced sequence-specific learning effects in serial reaction time tasks (SRTs). Previous research with PD patients has mainly employed the 'classical' SRT task, involving a spatially compatible assignment of stimuli and responses. From cognitive research, it is known that spatial compatibility triggers rapid, automatic responses in the direction of the stimulus.

Angiotensin AT1/AT2 receptors: regulation, signalling and function.

Angiotensin II (Ang II), the biologically active component of renin-angiotensin system (RAS), acts through two receptor subtypes, the AT1 and the AT2 receptor. All classic physiological effects of Ang II, such as vasoconstriction, aldosterone and vasopressin release, sodium and water retention and sympathetic facilitation, are mediated by the AT1 receptor. Ang II, via its AT1 receptor, is also involved in cell proliferation, left ventricular hypertrophy, nephrosclerosis, vascular media hypertrophy, endothelial dysfunction, neointima formation and processes leading to athero-thrombosis.

The ongoing telmisartan alone and in combination with ramipril global endpoint trial program.

The renin-angiotensin system evolved to maintain volume homeostasis and blood pressure and to prevent ischemia during acute volume loss. But in the present age, these mechanisms are redundant, and the clinical significance of angiotensin II results from its pathologic effects, which are mediated by the angiotensin II type 1 (AT(1)) receptor. Activation of AT(1) receptors has been linked to pathologic processes that contribute to atherosclerosis and ischemic events, including oxidative stress, inflammatory processes, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol trafficking, and prothrombotic states.

Are fingers special? Evidence about movement preparation from event-related brain potentials.

Ulrich, Leuthold, and Sommer (1998) suggested that movement preparation at the level of the motor cortex, as indexed by the lateralized readiness potential (LRP), proceeds in a strongly hierarchical fashion, where parameters other than response hand are prepared only if all the movement parameters are known. These conclusions were based on an experiment where a precue provided information about response hand, direction of finger movement, and movement force. To assess the generality of these findings, we replaced the force parameter with response finger.

Control over location-based response activation in the Simon task: behavioral and electrophysiological evidence.

In 4 Simon experiments the authors examined control over 2 routes of sensorimotor processing: response priming in the unconditional route and response selection via the conditional route. The Simon effect diminished as the frequency of noncorresponding trials increased. Location-based response priming was observed only when the stimulus followed a corresponding event but not after a noncorresponding trial.

Unusual mesoblastic nephroma in a young child.

We report a 1-year 11-month-old girl demonstrating a large renal mass with a unique presentation on imaging (US, CT and plain radiography), pathology and histology. The imaging features did not correspond with a Wilms' tumour, the most commonly found renal tumour in the child of this age. The US and CT findings resembled a benign lesion with an unusually high fat content.

Interactive telemedical applications in OP 2000 via satellite.

Using off-the-shelf hardware components and a specially developed high-end software communication system (WinVicos) satellite networks for interactive telemedicine have been designed and developed. These networks allow for various telemedical applications, like teleteaching, telementoring, intraoperative teleconsultation, second opinioning, etc..

Maximizing spike train coherence or incoherence in the leaky integrate-and-fire model.

We study noise-induced resonance effects in the leaky integrate-and-fire neuron model with absolute refractory period, driven by a Gaussian white noise. It is demonstrated that a finite noise level may either maximize or minimize the regularity of the spike train. We also partition the parameter space into regimes where either or both of these effects occur.

Prospective randomized trial to determine the influence of laparoscopic and conventional colorectal resection on intravasal fibrinolytic capacity.

Background: Although the pneumoperitoneum decreases venous reflux from the lower extremities, the rate of thromboembolic complcations seems to be lower after laparoscopic than after conventional procedures. Therefore, it has been assumed that laparoscopic surgery better preserves the intravasal fibrinolytic capacity. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of the operative technique on intravasal fibrinolytic capacity in colorectal resection.

Intracranial compliance as a bed-side monitoring technique in severely head-injured patients.

A recently developed monitoring technology makes an on-line assessment of intracranial compliance (ICC) possible. Aims of our research: 1. Course and values of ICC (critical threshold: < 0.

Temporal order relations in language comprehension.

The role of temporal orientation (chronological or reverse) and chronological distance (close, intermediate, or distant) in general event knowledge on language comprehension was examined. Experiment 1 used a relation-recognition paradigm in which the comprehension of a target event could be facilitated or disrupted by the temporal orientation implied by the prior information. Experiments 2 and 3 used a sentence-probe-recognition paradigm in which the temporal orientation, the stimulus onset asynchrony, and the chronological distance between the sentence event and the probe event were manipulated.

Decreased hemispheric Aquaporin-4 is linked to evolving brain edema following controlled cortical impact injury in rats.

The cerebral Aquaporin-4 (AQP4) water channel is suggested to be involved in brain edema formation aggravated by reduced cerebral blood flow early after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Therefore, the temporal profile of brain edema formation, AQP4 expression, and cortical perfusion were investigated following focal TBI in rats. Brain edema was maximal by 24 h.

Analytical approach to the stochastic FitzHugh-Nagumo system and coherence resonance.

We consider the FitzHugh-Nagumo system under the influence of white Gaussian noise in the excitable regime. We present an analytical approximation in the limit of fast activator time scale. Marginal probability densities of a reduced system and dynamical quantities such as the pulse rate are found and the mean interspike interval and its relative standard deviation are investigated.

31Phosphorus-magnetic resonance spectroscopy to assess histologic tumor response noninvasively after isolated limb perfusion for soft tissue tumors.

Background: In patients with unresectable soft tissue sarcoma of the extremities, isolated limb perfusion (ILP) has been reported to result in significant tumor regression enabling limb-sparing resection in the majority of patients. However, clinical tumor response as evaluated by imaging and histopathology (extent of tumor necrosis) often differ significantly. The current study was initiated to evaluate prospectively the role of 31phosphorus-magnetic resonance spectroscopy (31P-MRS) in the noninvasive assessment of histologic response in patients treated with ILP.

Brain-potential evidence for the time course of access to biographical facts and names of familiar persons.

On seeing familiar persons, biographical (semantic) information is typically retrieved faster and more accurately than name information. Serial stage models explain this pattern by suggesting that access to the name follows the retrieval of semantic information. In contrast, interactive activation and competition (IAC) models hold that both processes start together but name retrieval is slower because of structural peculiarities.