Biochemical Factors and Mechanisms of Secondary Brain Damage in Cerebral Ischemia and Trauma

A distinction between primary and secondary manifestations of brain damage from acute insults, such as trauma, or ischemia is not only of scientific interest but also of the highest clinical significance. After all, prevention of secondary brain damage in patients with severe head injury or cerebral ischemia is the ultimate purpose of treatment, including the measures of emergency care. It can be assumed that the secondary sequelae of head injury are as important for the outcome as the primary insult is. Therefore, it is obvious that development of more effective forms of treatment requires a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying secondary brain damage. Manifestations of seconda…

Secondary Growth of a Primary Brain Tissue Necrosis from a Focal Lesion

Traumatic brain injury is associated with the development of secondary brain damage, such as brain edema, intracranial hypertension, and cerebral ischemia [1]. A novel aspect is that a primary necrosis of brain parenchyma evolving from a focal cerebral insult may be subjected to secondary growth. Experiments utilizing different methods of brain injury have consistently confirmed an increase in size of the resulting tissue necrosis within 24 h, amounting to 50% in rats [3, 7, 10] and even 300% in rabbits [11]. It is not clear yet, however, whether the phenomenon reflects a delayed but irreversible primary process which is resistant to treatment or a manifestation of secondary brain damage, t…

Abstracts of scientific papers second international symposium on central nervous system monitoring