Cardiac myxoma, the most common benign cardiac tumour, can determine brain metastases or multiple cerebral aneurysms, but very few cases of both complications have been reported. We discuss the therapeutic management in the case of a patient, operated for a cardiac myxoma, who presented three intracerebral tumours and five cerebral microaneurysms.
Despite recent advances in understanding the complex pathogenesis of pancreatitis, the management of the disease remains suboptimal. The use of phytoceuticals (plant-derived pleiotropic multitarget molecules) represents a new research trend in pancreatology. The purpose of this review is to discuss the phytoceuticals with pancreatoprotective potential in acute pancreatitis and whose efficacy is based, at least in part, on their capacity to modulate the acinar cell death. The phytochemicals selected, belonging to such diverse classes as polyphenols, flavonoids, lignans, anthraquinones, sesquiterpene lactones, nitriles, and alkaloids, target the balance between apoptosis and necrosis. Activation of apoptosis via various mechanisms (e.g., inhibition of X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis proteins by embelin, upregulation of FasL gene expression by resveratrol) and/or inhibition of necrosis seem to represent the essential key for decreasing the severity of the disease. Apart from targeting the apoptosis/necrosis balance, the phytochemicals displayed other specific protective activities: inhibition of inflammasome (e.g., rutin), suppression of neutrophil infiltration (e.g., ligustrazine, resveratrol), and antioxidant activity. Even though many of the selected phytoceuticals represent a promising therapeutic alternative, there is a shortage of human evidence, and further studies are required to provide solid basis to justify their use in the treatment of pancreatitis.
Although surgery remains the treatment of choice for extradural hematomas (EDH), there were many cases reported in the literature with good outcome, even if they were not treated surgically. The aim of this study was to discover the most important factors influencing the management strategy and outcome of EDH and to outline a set of guidelines for the treatment. Fifty-six consecutive adult patients treated for EDH between 2008 and 2012 formed the base of this retrospective study. The patients were treated as follows: 28 cases (50.0%) underwent urgent surgery, 13 cases (23.2%) were managed nonoperatively and 15 cases (26.8%) required delayed surgery. The conservative management was directly related to the volume of the EDH, and the EDH volume over 30 cm3 was a significant prognostic factor for conversion to surgery (95 % CI, p < 0.001). Patients in coma (Glasgow Coma Score < 8) have a poorer outcome than patients in good neurological status, regardless of to the therapy followed (95% CI, p = 0.0034). The volume of the EDH was not demonstrated to be a prognostic factor related to outcome (95 % CI, p = 0.2031). In conclusion, the diagnosis of the EDH must be promptly made by CT scan and the patient should be handled as an emergency and admitted into a neurosurgical center. Surgical indications mainly rely on the patient's neurological status and CT findings.
Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) represent a high impact public health problem due to a high rate of death , long term disability and occurrence especially in young adults. Despite several promising animal studies, several parameters were proposed as biological markers and were assessed for this aim. Our study proposes the study of the early biochemical changes in association to hematological parameters for severe TBI patients prognosis. 43 patients with acute TBI were included in study based on clinical, laboratory and imagistic findings. The severity of the TBI was established by Glasgow Coma Scale GCS 3-8. In all patients were evaluated hematologic parameters (Red blood cell count - RBC, Hematocrit, blood Hemoglobin, White blood cell - WBC, Platelet count and biochemical parameters (glucose, urea, creatinine, electrolytes). Outcome was expressed as Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS), between 1-5. Values were compared to control group -15 cases. Significant early differences in body temperature, heart rate, and systolic blood pressure were observed in TBI group versus control (p[0.05). After correlation, laboratory findings significantly associated to severe outcome - GOS = 1, 2 - (p[0.05) were plasma Na decrease and significant glucose increase. An early increase of temperature and decrease of Na may predict a severe outcome in patients with acute TBI; association with shifts in heart rate and blood pressure, imposes aggressive treatment measures.
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