Heart surgeries can trigger strokes, seizures and other neurological complications
2010-11-17
(Press-News.org) Strokes, seizures and other neurological complications related to heart surgery account for "considerable morbidity and mortality," Loyola University Health System neurologists report in the November issue of the journal Hospital Practice.
Other complications include delirium, central nervous system infections, pituitary gland problems, spinal cord or peripheral nerve injuries, residual effects of anesthesia and medication toxicity.
Complications can involve any part of the central and peripheral nervous systems. "Neurologic complications are always a risk with cardiac surgery, especially in older patients who have other health problems," said Dr. José Biller, first author of the article and chairman of the Department of Neurology at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.
Strokes are the most common neurologic complication after cardiac surgery in adults. In children, seizures are the most common neurologic complication.
However, Biller said patients should not be afraid to undergo cardiac procedures. Many complications are rare. And despite the risks, cardiac surgeries generally "are highly beneficial and life-saving," he said.
Biller and colleagues summarized results of previously published studies. They examined neurologic complications related to cardiac catheterization exams, balloon angioplasties, ablation therapies for heart rhythm disorders, heart bypass surgeries, thoracic aortic surgeries, surgeries for congenital heart disease, cardiac valve surgeries, heart transplants, surgeries for heart tumors and procedures to close a hole in the heart called a patent foramen ovale.
"Neurologic complications remain an important cause of morbidity, hospitalization time and mortality following cardiac surgery and interventional cardiac procedures," Biller and his colleagues wrote. "Evaluation of these complications requires an orderly and systematic approach. Prompt identification of these deficits is key in planning appropriate evaluation and optimal management. Further research in this area is needed."
###Co-authors are Dr. Sara Hocker of the Mayo Clinic Department of Neurology and Dr. Sarkis Morales-Vidal of Loyola's Department of Neurology.
END
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2010-11-17
University of Alberta research has discovered a strong link between depression and risky sexual behaviours such as improper condom use, transactional sex and relationship violence among young people in South Africa.
The research shows that depression is common among young South Africans, and could be making a significant contribution towards the HIV epidemic.
As well, the researchers believe that depression could be contributing to risky sexual behaviours around the world, and that preventing or treating it may reduce the global burden of sexually transmitted diseases, ...
2010-11-17
November 16, 2010 -- Scientists who study acoustics (the "science of sound") have over the years developed a variety of techniques to probe the hidden depths of oceans. This week, many of these acoustic researchers will come together to discuss how these technologies were used to monitor April's Deepwater Horizon oil spill, to present new data on the gusher's ecological impacts, and to highlight new techniques under development that could improve our ability to detect oil in ocean water.
This special session will take place on November 17, 2010 at the 2nd Pan-American/Iberian ...
2010-11-17
By examining the distinct wave patterns formed from complex biochemical reactions within the human body, diseased organs may be more effectively identified, says Zhengdong Cheng, associate professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, who has developed a model that simulates how these wave patterns are generated.
His findings, which appear in the October issue of the journal "Physical Review E," detail Cheng's work with a system designed to model cells in a biochemical environment, similar to what occurs inside the human body.
His ...
2010-11-17
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — According to a popular hypothesis, grasses such as maize, sugar cane, millet and sorghum got their evolutionary start as a result of a steep drop in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels during the Oligocene epoch, more than 23 million years ago. A new study overturns that hypothesis, presenting the first geological evidence that the ancestors of these and other C4 grasses emerged millions of years earlier than previously established.
The findings are published in the journal Geology.
C4 plants are more efficient than C3 plants at taking up atmospheric ...
2010-11-17
Two new studies have shown that a unique program in East Harlem that helps middle school students learn practical health skills and gain a better understanding of medical conditions, such as diabetes and hypertension, resulted in increased interest in college attendance and medical careers among the students who attended the program. The results were presented at the American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting this month in Denver.
The MedStart Summer Enrichment Program was created in the summer of 2009 by Edward Chu and Melissa Schneiderman, two third-year ...
2010-11-17
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Almost a third of cerebral malaria survivors developed epilepsy or other behavioral disorders in the most comprehensive study to date of the disease in African children, solidifying the link between malaria and neuropsychiatric disorders that affect hundreds of thousands of children.
The research – led by Gretchen Birbeck, an associate professor of neurology and ophthalmology in Michigan State University's College of Osteopathic Medicine – appears in the current edition of The Lancet Neurology.
Cerebral malaria is a severe form of malaria affecting ...
2010-11-17
Using particles that are 1/100,000 the width of a human hair to deliver drugs to cells or assist plants in fighting off pests may sound like something out of a science fiction movie, but these scenarios may be a common occurrence in the near future.
Carbon nanotubes, cylindrically shaped carbon molecules with a diameter of about 1 nanometer, have many potential applications in a variety of fields, such as biomedical engineering and medical chemistry. Proteins, nucleic acids, and drugs can be attached to these nanotubes and delivered to cells and organs. Carbon nanotubes ...
2010-11-17
BERKELEY, Calif.—The Department of Energy's National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC), already one of the world's leading centers for scientific productivity, is now home to the fifth most powerful supercomputer in the world and the second most powerful in the United States, according to the latest edition of the TOP500 list, the definitive ranking of the world's top computers.
NERSC's newest supercomputer, a 153,408 processor-core Cray XE6 system, posted a performance of 1.05 petaflops (quadrillions of calculations per second) running the Linpack benchmark. ...
2010-11-17
With the help of babies and more than 5,000 of their diapers, Emory University researchers have developed an accurate, noninvasive method to determine estrogen levels in infants.
The method, previously used in nonhuman primates, will allow researchers to learn more about the association between estrogen levels in human infants and their long-term reproductive development as well as the development of sex-specific behaviors, such as toy preference or cognitive differences. What's more, the method will also allow researchers to look at how early disruption of the endocrine ...
2010-11-17
VIDEO:
University of Cincinnati researcher Denis Conover has cataloged countless plant species in the Cincinnati, Ohio, area in recent years.
Click here for more information.
According to research published today by a University of Cincinnati faculty member, native plants in southwestern Ohio are flowering significantly earlier, a finding he attributes, at least in part, to global warming.
UC biologist Denis Conover, field service associate professor, has spent countless ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Heart surgeries can trigger strokes, seizures and other neurological complications
