ABSTRACT
Introduction: Previous studies have indicated that administering erythropoietin [EPO] can have a beneficial impact on the clinical outcomes of patients with severe traumatic brain injury [TBI]. This review examines the possible therapeutic effects EPO can have neuronal functions, neurological performance, and neurological recovery
Methods: The PubMed and Scopus databases were systematically searched on the 5th June, 2015, using the following search strategy: ["traumatic brain injury" OR "brain trauma"] AND [erythropoietin OR EPO] to identify relevant articles in which the effect of erythropoietin on patients with TBI was assessed. No time limitation was defined as the inclusion criteria. All available studies were extracted and categorized based on the purpose of this study
Result: Of the 908 articles in total that were identified during the initial database search, 901 documents were excluded from further examination because they did not meet the predefined inclusion/exclusion criteria. The total number of patients enrolled in the selected literature was 798. Of these, the use of EPO failed to show significant improvement in 113 patients
Discussion: Previous studies have shown that EPO may represent a valuable neuroprotectant that is useful in the treatment of neonatal brain injury, neurodegeneration, and TBI. Studies on animal TBI models have also found that recombinant human erythropoietin [rhEPO] reduces the development of post-traumatic brain edema
Conclusion: EPO may represent a potential therapeutic approach for the treatment of TBI. In addition, it can improve the patients recovery prospects and reduce in-hospital mortality and morbidity
ABSTRACT
Central Nervous System [CNS] tumors have accounted for approximately one fourth of all pediatric malignancies. CNS tumors have been the most common solid malignancies among the children. In this study, we have evaluated survival and prognostic factors in children with non-brain stem astrocytoma. Children with non-brain stem astrocytoma, referring to radiation oncology centers of Ghaem and Omid hospitals of Mashhad, have included in this retrospective study, in years 2000-2010. Patients' demographic data, past medical history, clinical symptoms, extent of tumor resection and treatment modality have recorded. Disease-free survival and overall survival have measured using Kaplan-Meier method. We studied 87 patients with male to female ratio of 44/43 [1.02], and median age of 10 yrs [range: 2-15 yrs]. Tumor grade distribution was as follows: grade I: 20 [23%] subjects; grade II: 34 [39.1%] subjects; grade III: 20 [23%] subjects; and grade IV: 13 [14.9%] subjects. The median follow-up duration was 38 months [6 to 110], and 16 months [4 to 100] for patients with low- and high-grade tumors. The 2-year survival rates in grades I-IV were 100%, 84.7%, 60% and 10.8%, respectively. Tumor resection less than gross total and non-ambulation have associated with a significantly inferior survival in both groups multivariate analysis, with high- and low-grade tumors. For all the cases of the pediatric non-brainstem astrocytoma, tumor grade had dramatic influences on their survival. Performing gross total resection was crucial for achieving favorable outcomes in both low-grade and high-grade cases. Moreover, according to the results, having major motor deficits has associated with lower survival