to determine the factors affecting the outcome of patients with traumatic acute subdural hematoma, we reviewed the records of7 4 consecutive comatose patients with a glascow coma scale score (gcs) of less than 8 who had been admitted to imam hosein medical center from 1990 to 1996 and had undergone a uniform treatment protocol. the overall mortality rate was 73% and 23% had functional recovery,...

C ischemia after cardiac arrest is one of the most common causes of coma in the United States. At one year after hypoxic-ischemic coma, 53% died, 32% remain in persistent vegetative state (PVS) and only 32% have displayed some evidence of cognition.1 The search for a reliable method to confidently predict outcome post cardiac arrest is crucial for early decisions surrounding continued life supp...

A major question in chronobiology focuses around the "Bünning hypothesis" which implicates the circadian clock in photoperiodic (day-length) measurement and is supported in some systems (e.g. plants) but disputed in others. Here, we used the seasonally-regulated thermotolerance of Drosophila melanogaster to test the role of various clock genes in day-length measurement. In Drosophila, freezing ...

but levels of up to 6 mg%0 have been recorded (Lous, 1954). Undoubtedly, acute barbiturate toxicity is associated with the development of neurological signs, such as depressed tendon reflexes and extensor plantar responses (Carroll, 1969) but it is of interest that both patients showed these changes without gross respiratory or cardiovascular depression. Following recovery from coma, both patie...

We present a case of penetrating head injuries caused by blast fragmentation, along with other serious injuries (including to the arms, face and neck), where a good recovery was made despite an Injury Severity Score (ISS) of 75. We suggest that survival and outcome are reliant on several factors and cannot be predicted from ISS, velocity of penetrating injury or presenting Glasgow Coma Scale (G...

The treatment is described of 17 patients with presumed viral hepatitis who developed hepatic coma unresponsive to standard conservative measures. Five patients were considered for treatment by exchange transfusion. Four were treated, with transient improvement in two, but all died. Nine patients were considered for treatment by heterologous liver perfusion. Six were treated, with transient imp...

This paper reviews the current state of bedside behavioral assessment in brain-damaged patients with impaired consciousness (coma, vegetative state, minimally conscious state). As misdiagnosis in this field is unfortunately very frequent, we first discuss a number of fundamental principles of clinical evaluation that should guide the assessment of consciousness in brain-damaged patients in orde...