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PubMed1994

Experience with brain abscess in the central province of Saudi Arabia.

The characteristics of brain abscess in the Central Province of Saudi Arabia are outlined in this report which is a review of 22 consecutive cases that were treated at King Khalid University Hospital between 1985-1991. The incidence of brain abscess in Saudi Arabia is calculated to be 3.6 cases/500,000 population/year which is twice as high as the incidence reported from the West. There were 17 males and 5 females with an age range of 8 months-80 years (mean 29.9 years). The parietal lobe was involved in 27%, while the abscess was in the posterior fossa in 14% and multiple in another 14% of cases. The primary source of sepsis was unknown in 50%, post-traumatic in 18% and from a dental and mastoid origin in 14% of cases only. Duration of symptoms ranged between 4-30 days (mean 12 days). Fever was present in 55% of cases and epilepsy in 23%. Sixteen (73%) cases had burr hole aspiration, while 3 (14%) had craniotomy and excision, and 3 (14%) cases were managed with antimicrobial treatment only. Staphylococci were the pathogens in 27%, while streptococci were cultured in 23% cases and the culture was negative in 23%. Three (14%) cases all of which died had fungal abscesses caused by Fonsecaea pedrosoi. The mortality was 18%, good recovery in 68% and fair recovery in 14%. Follow-up was from 3 months to 5.5 years (mean 1.8 years).

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Dissociation in epilepsy and conversion nonepileptic seizures.

PURPOSE: We examined the dimensionality of the item content of the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) in relation to the clinical diagnosis of conversion nonepileptic seizures (C-NES) versus complex partial epilepsy (CPE). METHODS: The DES was administered to a sex- and age-matched sample of 132 patients with C-NES and 169 with CPE and was factor analyzed with principal components analysis (PCA) with varimax rotation. RESULTS: The mean total DES score was 15.1 in the C-NES group and 12.7 in the CPE group (p = 0.079). The factors obtained by PCA differentiated the CPE and C-NES groups more strongly than did the total DES score. The factor accounting for the most variance, interpreted as "depersonalization-derealization," was significantly greater in C-NES than CPE (p = 0.005). An "absorption-imaginative involvement" factor, which included some of the clinical features of posttraumatic stress disorder was elevated only in subjects reporting histories of childhood abuse (p = 0.001) regardless of the diagnosis of CPE or C-NES. An "amnestic" factor appearing to represent memory problems related to neurologic impairment showed a trend toward elevation in CPE (p = 0.056) and may have confounded the CPE versus C-NES distinction using total DES scores. CONCLUSIONS: The DES has separate underlying dimensions that appear to relate distinctively to depersonalization and derealization, childhood trauma, and neurologic impairment. The heterogeneous item content of the DES is a potential confound that should be appreciated when this instrument is used to study dissociation in neuropsychiatric populations.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

[A doctrinaire approach to evaluation of sequelae of craniocerebral injuries].

The consequences of the severe head injuries should be estimated 1-2 years following the injury. The evaluation must be based upon certain postulates which are to be obligatory for the team of experts (neuropsychiatrist, otologist, ophthalmologist, neuro-radiologist, clinical psychologist). They must work simultaneously as a team for it is the only way to establish the precise qualification of the damage in question. The clinical work up to now has shown many weak points. The first postulate is the information on the state of health prior to the injury: previous injuries and their sequelae, psychopathological manifestations, alcohol abuse, disturbances of the consciousness, vertigo, disturbances of the sight and hearing etc. The second postulate is the review of the case history regarding the acute period of the injury: the qualification of the injury, the duration of the state of unconsciousness and post-traumatic amnesia, focal neurological signs, psychological disturbances, EEG, CT etc. The third postulate is a detailed clinical examination including paraclinical parameters neurological examination (focal neurological signs, hemicerebral syndrome and very seldom-parkinsonism) with consultation of otologist (vestibularis, audiogram) and ophthalmologist (visus, fundus, campus, intraocular pressure), EEG (longitudinal follow-up), possible evoked cerebral potentials. The epilepsy syndrome must be based upon clinical and EEG criteria, while the selection must be very strict. In there are structural brain changes the collaboration with the neuroradiologist is important. Psychological disorders: neurasthenic neurosis, personality disorders, and rarely dementia. It should be clinically confirmed accompanied by psychological tests.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Craniocerebral Trauma↗
PubMed1979

[Computerized tomography in post-traumatic cerebral lesions (author's transl)].

A review of 108 cases of cranial injury, dating back for more than three months, and having had computerized tomography examinations, revealed 96 abnormalities in the results. These included overall, 65 times, and localized, 20 times, ventricular dilatations, generalized atrophy 27 times, porencephaly 27 times, enlargement of the sylvian fossa 28 times, chronic subdural hematomas 8 times, intracranial calcification 3 times, meningiomas 3 times, and a cerebral abscess in 1 patient. The computerized tomography results were normal in 12 patients. Very good correlations were found between clinical and computerized tomography results in patients with psychic disturbances and disorders of the higher centers. They were variable in cases of epilepsy and neurological deficiency states. The greatest number of normal results was found in so-called subjective syndromes.

Brain Diseases↗
PubMed1976

[Clinical and social fate of craniocerebral injuries in young adults].

After looking 15 years back, the authors based two detailed observations of young adult cranio-cerebral injured taken amongst a group of 30 others who had been the subject of a medical doctorate thesis. From then on, the authors drew notions of semeiology, concerning the subjects becoming aware of their body before being injured, when waking up from coma and during the phasis of after effects. They mean to suggest to consider the notions of "normal person" and of pre-traumatic mind, of "present person" and of traumatic mind, and of "future person" and of post-traumatic mind. They attempted to write a comparative essay with the cerebral and physical disable of early youth. By way of conclusion, they briefly studied the attitudes of the clinical, familial and social relations and of the medical and legal consequences of these attitudes.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1977

[Post-traumatic arteriovenous communication of the renal pedicle producing severe hypertension (author's transl)].

Post-traumatic arteriovenous communications of the renal pedicle with the inferior vena cava, the kidney remaining in position, are rare. The present case, to our knowledge, is the fifth in the world literature (Cohen et al., Rex et al., McAlhany et al., Sechas et al.). The diagnosis was made, first by the clinical signs of murmur and thrill, furthermore, by the characteristic finding of diastolic hypertension and by cardiac hypertrophy, and the diagnosis was confirmed by angiography. Treatment was surgical, in an attempt to save the kidney by means of reconstruction of the vessels of the renal pedicle. Finally, as the renal lesions were not reversible and as the state of the patient was aggravated by epilepsy, nephrectomy was carried out during a second operation. One should note the fall in arterial blood pressure during the first postoperative period.

Angiography↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Benign post-traumatic encephalopathy in young people and its relation to migraine.

Thirteen children and adolescents between ages 4 and 19 years developed transient nonconvulsive neurological symptoms and signs within a few hours apparently trivial head injuries. Some became quite seriously ill, but all made rapid and complete recoveries. Some of these young people are known to have suffered from migraine before and/or after this episode, and in all but one of the others a family history of migraine was elicited. With these patients are compared five younger children who developed epileptic fits after equally slight trauma. A diagnosis of migraine should be considered in children who develop delayed impairment of consciousness after head trauma, with or without convulsive phenomena or focal neurological deficits, and in whom specialized investigations reveal no sign of a mass lesion or of intracranial hemorrhage.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

[Initial epileptic crisis after the age of 60: etiology, clinical aspects and EEG].

We reviewed retrospectively a series of 100 inpatients with onset of epileptic seizure after the age of 60. All of them were investigated by EEG and 96 by CT scan. The most frequent cause of seizure was previous stroke, with 25 cerebral infarcts and 5 hemorrhages. Neoplastic lesions were present in 18 cases, with glioma (high grade), meningioma and metastases in the same proportion. Other etiologies included toxico-metabolic (18 cases), post-traumatic (9 cases), cerebral atrophy (4 cases) and miscellaneous (14 cases). The causes of seizure remained unknown in 7 patients, of whom 6 had focal signs in either clinical examination or EEG. Focal seizures (with or without secondary generalization) accounted for 65% of all cases and generalized seizures for 35%. The EEG was normal in 12 patients and abnormal in 88, with diffuse slowing in 55 patients and focal signs in 70 (some patients had both diffuse slowing and focal signs). Fourteen patients presented status epilepticus. Ten died during hospitalization. We conclude that epileptic seizure with onset after age 60 is nearly always symptomatic, and neuroradiologic investigations are necessary in the search for cerebral lesions. In our study, the prevalence of "idiopathic epilepsy" is lower than previously described.

Aged↗
PubMed1975

The late neurological, psychological, and social aspects of severe traumatic coma.

Thirty patients who had survived a heavy head trauma and a post-traumatic coma, lasting for more than one week, were investigated 8 to 14 years after the trauma. The patients have been followed up from a social, psychological, and neurological point of view. Fifty per cent of these patients are considered to be well rehabilitated. All the investigated patients showed slight to severe reduction in mental capacity. Eighty per cent of the patients had neurological defects which were not as important with respect to social rehabilitation as was the mental capacity reduction.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1976

Diphenylhydantoin-induced hepatic necrosis. A case study.

A patient with post-traumatic seizure disorder developed lymphadenopathy, exfoliative dermatitis, and hepatic failure while on diphenylhydantoin therapy and died in hepatic coma. Autopsy disclosed massive hepatic necrosis. The clinical and pathological pictures are similar to the six previously reported cases of diphenylhydantoin-induced hepatic necrosis, with the exception of the time of onset of hepatic failure, which is explained. The cause of such hepatotoxicity is unknown, although hypersensitivity is postulated. It appears that studies of liver function in patients receiving diphenylhydantion are indicated to assess the true indicence of hepatocellular injury.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Decreased plasma protein binding of valproate in patients with acute head trauma.

1. One hundred and ten plasma samples were obtained from 50 patients treated with valproate for prophylaxis of post-traumatic head injuries. The samples were selected to include a wide range of albumin concentrations and were assayed for free and total valproate concentrations. Valproate binding parameters were determined from the Scatchard equation for one binding site using reweighted least squares analysis. 2. Plasma albumin concentrations were measured in 130 patients with head trauma. They started to decrease immediately after trauma, reaching a minimum at 5-7 days of approximately 24% of baseline value and did not return to normal until 1 month. 3. The free fraction of valproate varied six to seven-fold as albumin concentration ranged from 1.5 to 4.8 g 100 ml-1 (218-696 mumol l-1). The mean association constant for binding (Ka) was 0.008 mumol l(-1) and the mean number of binding sites (N) was 2.0. There values were similar to those reported for valproate in otherwise healthy patients with epilepsy. 4. Because of saturable protein binding of valproate, hypoalbuminaemia may necessitate the monitoring of free valproate concentrations to avoid toxicity when valproate is used in patients with acute head injury.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1998

The role of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-mediated neurotransmission in the pathophysiology and therapeutics of psychiatric syndromes.

The study of excitatory amino acids (EAAs) has recently resulted in new and fundamental concepts in neuroscience. This progress has led to a growing awareness of the crucial role that brain EAAs systems play in a variety of physiological and pathological processes. The N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor, presently the most well understood subtype of EAAs receptors, has been implicated in crucial physiological processes such as synaptogenesis, learning and memory. Dysfunctions of NMDA receptors seem to play a crucial role in the neurobiology of disorders such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy and ischemic stroke. This paper is a review of emerging data indicating that alterations of NMDA receptor function may be pivotal to the pathophysiology of four common psychiatric syndromes: schizophrenia, major depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and alcoholism. Special emphasis is placed on the current state of development of pharmacological strategies aiming at the modulation of NMDA receptor-mediated neurotransmission in these disorders.

Alcoholism↗
PubMed1980

A prospective study of children with head injuries: I. Design and methods.

The main unresolved issues with respect to the psychological sequelae of brain damage in childhood are noted, and the previous studies of children suffering head injury are critically reviewed. A new prospective study is described. Three groups of children were studied: (a) 31 children with "severe" head injuries resulting in a post-traumatic amnesia of at least 7 days; (b) an individually matched control group of 28 children with hospital-treated orthopaedic injuries; and (c) 29 children with "mild" head injuries resulting in a post-traumatic amnesia exceeding 1 hour but less than 1 week. The children were studied as soon as possible after the accident and then again 4 months, 1 year, and 2 1/4 years after the injury. The parents were interviewed, using systematic and standardized interview techniques; both parents and teachers completed behavioural questionnaires; and the children were seen for individual psychological testing the WISC, the Neale Analysis of Reading Ability and a battery of tests of more specific cognitive functions. At the final follow-up, the severe head injury group (but not the other 2 groups) received a systematic neurological examination and the school teacher who knew the child best was personally interviewed. The findings are given on physical handicap, neurological abnormality, school placement and psychiatric referrals. All types of disabilities were both more frequent and more persistent in the children with severe head injuries.

Amnesia↗
PubMed1999

Impaired K(+) homeostasis and altered electrophysiological properties of post-traumatic hippocampal glia.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can be associated with memory impairment, cognitive deficits, or seizures, all of which can reflect altered hippocampal function. Whereas previous studies have focused on the involvement of neuronal loss in post-traumatic hippocampus, there has been relatively little understanding of changes in ionic homeostasis, failure of which can result in neuronal hyperexcitability and abnormal synchronization. Because glia play a crucial role in the homeostasis of the brain microenvironment, we investigated the effects of TBI on rat hippocampal glia. Using a fluid percussion injury (FPI) model and patch-clamp recordings from hippocampal slices, we have found impaired glial physiology 2 d after FPI. Electrophysiologically, we observed reduction in transient outward and inward K(+) currents. To assess the functional consequences of these glial changes, field potentials and extracellular K(+) activity were recorded in area CA3 during antidromic stimulation. An abnormal extracellular K(+) accumulation was observed in the post-traumatic hippocampal slices, accompanied by the appearance of CA3 afterdischarges. After pharmacological blockade of excitatory synapses and of K(+) inward currents, uninjured slices showed the same altered K(+) accumulation in the absence of abnormal neuronal activity. We suggest that TBI causes loss of K(+) conductance in hippocampal glia that results in the failure of glial K(+) homeostasis, which in turn promotes abnormal neuronal function. These findings provide a new potential mechanistic link between traumatic brain injury and subsequent development of disorders such as memory loss, cognitive decline, seizures, and epilepsy.

Animals↗