BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The number of elderly people is markedly increasing in Japan. We have investigated the epidemiology and management outcome of cerebral aneurysms in elderly patients aged > or = 70 years.

METHODS: A total of 3100 patients were enrolled in the Yamaguchi Data Bank of Cerebral Aneurysm between 1985 and 1995. Of these, 598 with ruptured cerebral aneurysms and 120 with unruptured cerebral aneurysms were elderly (ie, aged > or = 70 years).

RESULTS: The number of elderly ...

Comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) is a technique that allows the detection of losses and gains in DNA copy number across the entire genome. We used CGH to study the genetic alterations that occur in primary astrocytomas, including 14 glioblastomas (GBM), 12 anaplastic astrocytomas (AA), and 7 low-grade astrocytomas (LGA). The average numbers of total aberrations in GBM, AA, and LGA were 9.7, 5.4, and 4.0, respectively. The average number of DNA sequence losses in GBM was ...

Cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cerebrovascular reserve capacity (CRC) were measured by stable xenon computerized tomography (Xe-CT) and acetazolamide test in 15 patients with cerebrovascular disease before and after extracranial-intracranial (EC-IC) bypass surgery for minor stroke, reversible ischemic neurological deficit or transient ischemic attack. All had angiographically shown occlusive lesions of the major arterial trunk. In the present series, global analysis showed that the bypass ...

The mechanism of hypothermic cerebroprotection after traumatic brain injury (TBI) is unknown. The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of mild hypothermia on the changes in cortical extracellular amino acids and cerebral blood flow (CBF) caused by cerebral contusion created in the rat parietal cortex by a weight-drop method. CBF in both normothermia (37 degrees C) and hypothermia (32 degrees C) groups, which was monitored using the hydrogen clearance technique, ...

OBJECTIVE: To measure cerebrospinal fluid and plasma concentrations of nitrate and nitrite as indicators of nitric oxide production in adults after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH).

DESIGN: A prospective, clinical study.

SETTING: Multidisciplinary intensive care unit.

PATIENTS: Nine patients (three males and six females, aged 29-64 yrs) with aneurysm-induced SAH were studied. Glasgow Coma Scale score on admission ranged from 9 to 15. Ruptured aneurysms were clipped within 72 hrs of ictus, ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Chlamydia pneumoniae infection has recently become noteworthy in relation to atherosclerosis. We investigated by immunohistochemistry the distribution of C pneumoniae infection in the atherosclerotic carotid artery.

METHODS: Twenty carotid atherosclerotic lesions that were resected during carotid endarterectomy were investigated. Parallel sections were stained immunohistochemically with monoclonal antibodies for a C pneumoniae-specific antigen, macrophages, and ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The purpose of the present study is to determine the effect of mild hypothermia on the synthesis of ubiquitin, an important protein for maintenance of cell viability, in the hippocampal neurons following transient cerebral ischemia.

METHODS: Transient ischemia was induced by occluding both common carotid arteries for 5 minutes. In experiment 1, the animals were divided into four groups according to the rectal and scalp temperatures during ischemia: the ...

Little is known about genetic alterations during malignant progression of meningioma. We used comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) in 20 patients (13 with typical, 4 with atypical and 3 with anaplastic meningiomas) to investigate the genetic pathway underlying the development of meningioma. Typical meningiomas displayed only a few genetic changes such as monosomy 22. Anaplastic meningiomas manifested more aberrations than typical meningiomas, frequently exhibiting losses of 1p, 2p, ...

We investigated cyclin B1 expression during the cell cycle in human glioma cells cultured under asynchronous growing condition by two cytometry techniques: flow cytometry (FCM) and laser scanning cytometry (LSC). FCM analysis revealed the specific accumulation of cyclin B1 in G2/M phase with a wide intercellular variation (Dunphy WG: Trend Cell Biol 4:202-207, 1994). It is noteworthy that LSC, which is characterized by rapid quantitative analysis followed by imaging, allows morphological ...

PURPOSE: To investigate the effects of nitric oxide (NO) on seizure activity observed in brain areas that are remote from a primary epileptic focus.

METHODS: Following an injection of kainate (concentration 1 mg/ml, volume 1 microl) in the rat hippocampus, we measured NO synthesis in the contralateral hippocampus and epileptic activity by electroencephalogram (EEG). The NO end products, nitrite and nitrate, were measured by in vivo microdialysis combined with an automated NO end-product ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Several recent studies have suggested that neurosurgical procedures are not contraindicated in patients with cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). The purpose of this study was to elucidate the clinical factors influencing the outcome of patients with CAA-related intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) treated surgically.

METHODS: A total of 50 neurosurgical procedures (42 intracerebral hematoma evacuations, 4 ventriculoperitoneal shunts, 3 ventricular drainages, and 1 brain ...

To investigate the causative mechanism of hemiparesis in chronic subdural hematoma, 38 patients with unilateral chronic subdural hematoma were studied on the relationship between their clinical manifestations and regional cerebral blood flow measured with 133xenon inhalation (16 detectors on each side of the head, Initial Slope Index). Twenty-five patients with hemiparesis (hemiparesis group) and 13 patients with headaches only and without any neurological deficits (headache group) were ...

Studies concerning neurotransmitter release following cerebral hypoxia are scarce, and the effects of mild hypothermia on hypoxia-induced neurotransmitter release are unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in excitatory amino acid (EAA) concentrations and nitric oxide (NO) synthesis following cerebral hypoxia in rats, and the effects of mild hypothermia on both. Cerebral hypoxia (PaO2, 30-40 mm Hg) was induced in each rat for 60 min. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) was ...

A new technique of indirect revascularization using the dural arterial supply to provide donor vessels is presented together with the results of an assay performed to determine the angiogenic activity of the dura. At surgery, a portion of the dura near the branches of the middle meningeal artery was split into outer and inner layers, and the split surface of the outer layer was attached to the cortical surface. This procedure, combined a with standard encephaloduroarteriosynangiosis, was ...