ABSTRACT
Three cases of penetrating cranio-cerebral injuries are reported. Two were caused by steel hooks shot by rotating blades: in one of these, the foreign body penetrated the brain through the eye-ball and in the second case the main injury was caused by a careless of extraction. In the third case, the foreign body, a key, penetrated the left parasagittal rolandic area following an under-water injury. All three patients were submitted to surgery and had good neurological recovery without complications of infection or seizures.
Subject(s)
Brain Injuries , Wounds, Penetrating , Adult , Brain Injuries/diagnostic imaging , Brain Injuries/surgery , Eye Injuries/diagnostic imaging , Eye Injuries/surgery , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Male , Radiography , Wounds, Penetrating/diagnostic imaging , Wounds, Penetrating/surgeryABSTRACT
Plasma GH levels basally and after CDP-Choline (300 mg) i.v. administration were evaluated by radioimmunoassay in patients with brain lesions variously located (frontal lobe, temporal lobe or hypothalamus) as well as in subjects with pituitary lesions. The results were statistically analyzed and compared with those obtained in normal subjects. A lack of response to CDP-Choline was observed in patients with pituitary adenomas or hypothalamic lesions. The GH response was delayed in patients with frontal lobe diseases. On the basis of the results obtained, we discuss the role of the different central nervous structures on the control of the GH activating system.
Subject(s)
Brain Diseases/physiopathology , Choline/analogs & derivatives , Cytidine Diphosphate Choline , Growth Hormone/blood , Pituitary Gland/drug effects , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Brain Neoplasms/metabolism , Child , Female , Frontal Lobe/drug effects , Humans , Hypothalamic Diseases/physiopathology , Hypothalamus/drug effects , Hypothalamus, Anterior/drug effects , Hypothalamus, Middle/drug effects , Male , Middle Aged , Pinealoma/metabolism , Temporal Lobe/drug effectsABSTRACT
In order to obtain functional images of brain perfusion, we exploited a new concept, which is to take advantage of the short half-life of a radioactive tracer. Under continuous intracarotid infusion of a solution of Kr-81m (T1/2 = 13 sec; produced from its parent, 4.6-hr Rb-81), this tracer will never reach equilibrium within the brain because of the rapid radioactive decay. Its distribution will therefore reflect regional arrival of the nuclide, indicating regional cerebral blood flow rather than volume. During continuous infusion of Kr-81m, perfusion images can be obtained by simply collecting counts with a gamma camera and recording on Polaroid film. The procedure is readily repeatable in order to get images in multiple veiws or to follow minute-by-minute changes of cerebral perfusion.
