A novel time-resolved fluorescent lateral flow immunoassay for quantitative detection of the trauma brain injury biomarker-glial fibrillary acidic protein

A highly sensitive time-resolved fluorescence lateral flow immunoassay (TRF-LFIA) was developed to quantify glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), a trauma brain injury (TBI) biomarker in blood, for the purpose of providing a diagnosis of mild brain injury.

Agmatine: A potential Neurotherapeutic Agent

Agmatine, a natural polyamine disregarded almost for over 100 years, was discovered in year 1910. Almost after a decade, several researches on Agmatine indicated its modulatory action at multiple molecular targets such as, nitric oxide synthesis, neurotransmitter systems, and polyamine metabolism unbolt the new avenues for extensive therapeutic applications which includes neurotrauma and neurodegenerative diseases, antidepressant, cognitive disorders. Agmatine exerts its varied biological characteristics and therapeutic potential in diverse arena. Agmatine has been extensively researched for its neuroprotective effect in various types of neurological diseases, including stroke and trauma brain injury along with Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, Hypoxia /Ischemia. In the present review we have summarized the therapeutic potential of agmatine as protective and regenerative properties in the CNS. Keywords: Agmatine, Neuroprotective, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, CNS disorders.

Effectiveness of Decompressive Hemicraniectomy to Treat a Life-Threatening Cerebral Fat Embolism

Background and Importance. Cerebral fat embolism (CFE) occurs mainly after long-bone fractures. Often reducing to minor neurological disorders as confusion, it can sometimes cause more severe consequences such as coma or even death. While CFE has been described for several years, there is no consensual treatment. Clinical Presentation. We report the case of a 15-year-old girl with a severe cerebral fat embolism secondary to a longboard fall with a femur fracture. She developed in less than 4 hours a coma. On day 4, she lost her brainstem reflexes with a clinical condition close to brain death, with a very high intracranial pressure (ICP) value above 75 mmgH at worst. She was treated as having a trauma brain injury based on ICP control with a decompressive hemicraniectomy. She recovered in some weeks, allowing discharge to a post ICU rehabilitation center, one month after admission. Conclusion. We report a severe case of cerebral fat embolism with good outcome. It was managed as a trauma brain injury. We emphasize the neurological management based on ICP and discuss the position of hemicraniectomy.

Ocular Ultrasonography: A Useful Instrument in Patients with Trauma Brain Injury in Emergency Service

The measurement of the optic nerve sheath by ocular ultrasonography might be an indirect method to assess the quickly increase of the intracranial pressure in patients with moderate trauma brain injury, taking into account that an important proportion of these could develop the increase of the intracranial pressure in a hospital-acquired way. Therefore noninvasive, reliable, and convenient techniques are needed making the ocular ultrasonography a useful tool, due to the invasive monitoring elements’ problems and the poor access to measure the intracranial pressure in emergency services. In spite of the limitations and few studies that exist to consider it as a possible early detection, this technique could work as a noninvasive one in the case that could not be possible to do invasive monitoring or when it is not recommended.