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Hypotensive anesthesia for total hip arthroplasty: a study of blood loss and organ function (brain, heart, liver, and kidney).

The authors attempted to determine whether hypotensive anesthesia or the method of inducing hypotension has any effect on postoperative brain, liver, or kidney function and myocardial status following total hip arthroplasty. Thirty patients were anesthestized with halothane-nitrous oxide for total hip arthroplasty and randomly assigned to one of three groups. In two groups mean arterial blood pressure was decreased to 50 torr by high inspired concentrations of halothane (n = 90) or sodium nitroprusside (n = 12). In the third group (n = 9) mean blood pressure was maintained within 20% of control. Intraoperative blood losses decreased from 1,183 +/- 172 ml in the normotensive group to 406 +/- 102 ml and 326 +/- 41 ml in the halothane and nitroprusside hypotensive groups, respectively. Neither method of inducing hypotension nor hypertensive technique affected the results of postoperative tests of cerebral, hepatic, or renal function and myocardial status. These tests were performed before anesthesia and operation and at intervals in the postoperative course. In this small group of patients, deliberate hypotension for total hip arthroplasty added no morbidity and significantly shortened operating time, decreased blood loss, and decreased the number of blood transfusions needed.

Aged

Long term effects of high altitude on brain function.

Absence of oxygen to the brain for even a very few minutes results in loss of consciousness and can cause permanent injury. Can the wanderer to the limits of earth-bound hypoxia suffer similar harm from more prolonged exposure to milder hypoxia that does not cause loss of consciousness? I shall review the results from studies where neurobehavioral function has been compared in mountaineers before and after return from great heights and in individuals with chronic pulmonary disease before and after prolonged, continuous oxygen therapy. Many (although not all) of these studies report mild impairment of neurobehavioral function after fairly prolonged hypoxic exposure. Impairment was manifest by deficits in memory storage and recall, aphasia, concentration, and finger tapping speed; the last deficit was still detectable a year later in one group of mountaineers. Limited evidence suggests that climbers with a high ventilatory response to hypoxia (HVR) may be more susceptible to impairment than those with a lower HVR.

Altitude Sickness

The development and evaluation of a low-cost microdensitometer for use with the 2-deoxy-D-glucose method of functional brain mapping.

The conversion of a standard laboratory compound microscope into a microdensitometer for use in the 2-deoxy-D-glucose autoradiographic method of functional mapping in the brain is described. A solid-state detector was attached to the camera port of a Zeiss Universal Microscope and minor modifications to the microscope optics were made to produce a microdensitometer with a field of view 0.15 mm in diameter. Details are presented showing the modifications to the microscope which do not permanently destroy its functional ability to perform as a viewing microscope. A simple electronic circuit is presented to digitally display the output of the photo detector. Calibration of the instrument in terms of optical density or 2-deoxy-D-glucose activity is also described. The primary design goal was the construction of a simple, reliable, inexpensive microdensitometer that could be assembled by laboratory personnel. This densitometer should allow laboratories on modest budgets to have access to quantitative methods for the study of brain functional activity at a cost considerably less than the price of a commercial microdensitometer.

Animals

Correlation of brain function with emotional behavior.

Identification of brain sites where physiologic activity was correlated with subjective emotional experiences in patients undergoing treatment was the starting point for our investigations of the neural basis for emotion and related clinically documented behavioral phenomena. By use of anatomic and physiologic techniques, the neural substrate has been shown to be notably different from that which continues to be described in textbooks, that is, the limbic system. Establishing the neurophysiologic basis for emotion has led to effective treatment for some neurologic and psychiatric disorders. Further, it has provided a basis for defining the origin of certain clinical disorders that are still obscure, the first step toward development of their specific treatment.

Animals

HBNF and MK, members of a novel gene family of heparin-binding proteins with potential roles in embryogenesis and brain function.

HBNF (heparin-binding neurite-promoting factor) is a heparin-binding protein which is found primarily in the brain and stimulates neurite outgrowth in cultured perinatal neurons. It was also reported to be mitogenic for fibroblasts and endothelial cells but this activity is still controversial. The sequence of HBNF is highly conserved in diverse species suggesting important function. Expression of the HBNF gene in brain tissue appears to be developmentally regulated, increasing during gestation to highest levels around the time of birth. The HBNF gene shows high sequence homology to another gene, MK (midkine). Like HBNF, the MK gene is developmentally regulated, however, high expression occurs in most fetal tissues during mid-gestation. The biological properties of the MK protein are remarkably similar to those of HBNF. The available evidence suggests that HBNF and MK are members of a new family of genes with potential roles in fetal development and in brain function or maintenance.

Amino Acid Sequence

Cortical activity in the left and right hemispheres during language-related brain functions.

The blood flow to a given brain region increases as the level of neural activity is augmented. Hence mapping of variations in regional cerebral blood flow affords a means of imaging the activity of various brain regions during various types of brain work. The paper summarizes the patterns of cortical activity seen during various language functions, emphasizing the practically symmetrical involvement in both hemispheres. A case of auditive agnosia (with complete cortical word deafness but preserved pure tone thresholds) is presented. The patient's normal speech constitutes evidence that auditory feedback (absent in his case) is not a prerequisite for speaking.

Agnosia

[The effect of Piracetam on adolescent brain function].

A report on investigations with Piracetam, recently introduced into therapy, is given. Piracetam is mainly characterized by cerebral metabolic effects, leading to an activation of cerebral functions as well as to brain protection. Experimental studies showed the highly selective activity of Piracetam on cerebral cortex, which is responsible for higher mental functions as consciousness, vigilance and memory. Therapeutic results in 48 adolescents with poor school results are reported. These patients were treated with Piracetam for a continuous period up to 14 months. The therapy lead to convincing improvements in terms of school results.

Adolescent