Skull-base tumors are generally difficult to access compared with many other cranial lesions. Usually surgery remains the gold standard treatment for the majority of these tumors. However, in many cases, surgical rese...Skull-base tumors are generally difficult to access compared with many other cranial lesions. Usually surgery remains the gold standard treatment for the majority of these tumors. However, in many cases, surgical resection is a challenge because the disease usually is already in the advanced stage by the time of diagnosis. Additionally, there are hypervascular lesions which cause excessive loss of blood, then results in multiple blood transfusions and prolonged operative time, increases the risk of neural injury and prevents complete excision. In order to reduce blood loss intraoperatively, many alternatives were available with the neurosurgical armamentarium, such as head elevation, intravenous use of tranexamic acid, total intravenous anesthesia and even preoperative embolization of tumors. However, preoperative embolization carries variable results, potentially aggravating edema and increasing tumor size. To ascertain the current status and the up-to-date indications, an evaluation of the therapeutic role of preoperative embolization was performed in the current study.展开更多
Spinal cord injury can lead to important functional, psychological and social sequelae. Despite the progress in medicine and greater understanding of the pathophysiological events associated with a traumatic spinal co...Spinal cord injury can lead to important functional, psychological and social sequelae. Despite the progress in medicine and greater understanding of the pathophysiological events associated with a traumatic spinal cord injury, spinal cord injury is still associated with a high morbidity and mortality. The involvement of the autonomic nervous system has implications in acute and chronic stages of the injured spinal cord patients. The most frequent cardiovascular complications in the acute phase of the traumatic spinal lesions are bradyarrhythmia, hypotension, increased vasovagal reflexes, ventricular and supraventricular ectopic beats, venous stasis, and vasodilation. In the chronic phase, we find orthostatic hypotension, alteration of the arterial pressure and the regulation of the body temperature as well as alteration of the blood volume. The knowledge of the cardiovascular alterations is of vital importance for the management and rehabilitation of the patients with spinal cord injury. In this article, we present a critical review of medical literature.展开更多
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of death and neurological disability in young adults worldwide. This work aims to review the role of progesterone in traumatic brain injury and the usefulness as a pos...Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of death and neurological disability in young adults worldwide. This work aims to review the role of progesterone in traumatic brain injury and the usefulness as a possible treatment. We searched pubmed database (2000-2017) for articles containing 'progesterone and brain traumatic injury'. Basic science studies have advanced knowledge of the mechanisms of secondary brain injury, creating prospects for the medical and pharmacological management of TBI. Although several comparative studies evaluated both the efficacy and safety of several groups of drugs, in which, corticosteroids, tranexamic acid, βreceptor antagonists, erythropoiesis-stimulating agents, reductase inhibitorsinclude hydroxymethyl glutaryl-CoA inhibitors (statins), among others. Several studies even evaluated the role of progesterone in the treatment of TBI, which is providing growing evidence about its potential neuroprotective mechanisms during the acute phase of trauma. Despite recent advances in the field of management of TBI care in the emergency units, intensive care and the multiple trials for more than 20 years to find useful pharmacological treatments, most of these efforts failed in pre-clinical stages (II and III).展开更多
文摘Skull-base tumors are generally difficult to access compared with many other cranial lesions. Usually surgery remains the gold standard treatment for the majority of these tumors. However, in many cases, surgical resection is a challenge because the disease usually is already in the advanced stage by the time of diagnosis. Additionally, there are hypervascular lesions which cause excessive loss of blood, then results in multiple blood transfusions and prolonged operative time, increases the risk of neural injury and prevents complete excision. In order to reduce blood loss intraoperatively, many alternatives were available with the neurosurgical armamentarium, such as head elevation, intravenous use of tranexamic acid, total intravenous anesthesia and even preoperative embolization of tumors. However, preoperative embolization carries variable results, potentially aggravating edema and increasing tumor size. To ascertain the current status and the up-to-date indications, an evaluation of the therapeutic role of preoperative embolization was performed in the current study.
文摘Spinal cord injury can lead to important functional, psychological and social sequelae. Despite the progress in medicine and greater understanding of the pathophysiological events associated with a traumatic spinal cord injury, spinal cord injury is still associated with a high morbidity and mortality. The involvement of the autonomic nervous system has implications in acute and chronic stages of the injured spinal cord patients. The most frequent cardiovascular complications in the acute phase of the traumatic spinal lesions are bradyarrhythmia, hypotension, increased vasovagal reflexes, ventricular and supraventricular ectopic beats, venous stasis, and vasodilation. In the chronic phase, we find orthostatic hypotension, alteration of the arterial pressure and the regulation of the body temperature as well as alteration of the blood volume. The knowledge of the cardiovascular alterations is of vital importance for the management and rehabilitation of the patients with spinal cord injury. In this article, we present a critical review of medical literature.
文摘Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of death and neurological disability in young adults worldwide. This work aims to review the role of progesterone in traumatic brain injury and the usefulness as a possible treatment. We searched pubmed database (2000-2017) for articles containing 'progesterone and brain traumatic injury'. Basic science studies have advanced knowledge of the mechanisms of secondary brain injury, creating prospects for the medical and pharmacological management of TBI. Although several comparative studies evaluated both the efficacy and safety of several groups of drugs, in which, corticosteroids, tranexamic acid, βreceptor antagonists, erythropoiesis-stimulating agents, reductase inhibitorsinclude hydroxymethyl glutaryl-CoA inhibitors (statins), among others. Several studies even evaluated the role of progesterone in the treatment of TBI, which is providing growing evidence about its potential neuroprotective mechanisms during the acute phase of trauma. Despite recent advances in the field of management of TBI care in the emergency units, intensive care and the multiple trials for more than 20 years to find useful pharmacological treatments, most of these efforts failed in pre-clinical stages (II and III).