Attempted suicide leading to acquired brain injury: a scoping review.

Objective: Conduct a scoping review of literature surrounding acquired brain injury (ABI) sustained secondary to a suicide attempt to establish the current body of research on injury outcomes and rehabilitative needs for this population.Methods: A systematic search of the literature was conducted. Searches were conducted using terms relating to this injury etiology and search results with original or secondary data on individuals with an ABI were included for review.Results: Thirty-two articles were reviewed. Limited data characterizing this population exists in the literature. Findings indicate that this population have generally poorer injury outcomes compared with ABI sustained through other means. Rehabilitative needs are rarely addressed, but limited commentary suggests that extensive pre-morbid conditions, severity of injuries and psychosocial support needs of this population present implications for rehabilitative supports.Conclusion: There is a relative dearth of research examining ABI sustained secondary to a suicide attempt. Collated findings suggest these individuals are rarely recognized in the literature as a distinct ABI population with rehabilitative needs specific to this etiology. Future research should aim to address the gaps identified in the literature, including characterizing the population, establishing pre-morbid conditions and developing tailored rehabilitative support to address complex needs.

Long-term follow-up study of chronic deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus for cervical dystonia.

Objectives. Medically refractory cervical dystonia has recently been treated using deep brain stimulation (DBS), targeting the subthalamic nucleus (STN). There has been limited literature regarding short-term outcomes and no literature regarding long-term outcomes for refractory cervical dystonia following DBS of the STN. Materials and Methods. Two patients with medically refractory cervical dystonia underwent STN DBS. Patients were rated using the Toronto Western Spasmodic Torticollis Rating Scale (TWSTRS) preoperatively and immediately postoperatively as well as just prior to turning on the stimulators and subsequently at 24-48 hours, six months, one, two, and three years after stimulation. Microrecordings were used to identify the STN and substantia nigra reticulata (SNr). Results. Significant immediate and sustained long-term improvements were seen in motor, disability, pain, and total TWSTRS scores. In one patient, only unilateral stimulation was required. The STN and SNr were easily identified as having activity similar to off-state Parkinson's patients. Conclusions. DBS therapy for cervical dystonia utilizing the STN as the surgical target may be novel and may be an alternative target to the globus pallidus internus as supported by this first long-term outcome report. Further studies need to be performed to confirm these conclusions.

Systemic effects of deep brain stimulation on synergic control in Parkinson's disease.

OBJECTIVE: We explored effects of deep brain stimulation (DBS) in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) on the synergic control of fingers in a multi-finger force production task and of muscles in a task involving vertical posture. METHODS: The finger task involved the four fingers of a hand producing accurate total force followed by a targeted quick force pulse. The postural task involved releasing a load from extended arms. The analysis of synergies was performed within the framework of the uncontrolled manifold hypothesis. RESULTS: DBS led to no significant changes in indices of stability during steady-state phases. In contrast, DBS improved indices of agility, quantified as anticipatory synergy adjustments that reduced stability of salient performance variables in preparation to their quick change. There were moderate-to-strong correlations between indices of both stability and agility measured in the multi-finger force production and multi-muscle whole-body action. CONCLUSIONS: Our results point at systemic changes in synergic control in PD. They show that DBS is effective in improving only one components of synergic control related to agility in performance being relatively ineffective for the stability component. SIGNIFICANCE: The results show systemic brain mechanisms of synergies and suggest differential effects of DBS on indices of stability and agility.

Vaginal cancer in a patient with complicated prolapse history: a case report.

BACKGROUND: In the setting of multiple pelvic floor procedures, vaginal abnormalities are not unusual. CASE: We present the case of a 59-year-old woman with voiding dysfunction and inability to have intercourse after multiple pelvic floor procedures who presented with a vaginal mass on bimanual examination, thought to be related to prior procedures with permanent sutures. Imaging was obtained, and the lesions were thought to be suture granuloma. She was taken to the operating room for relaxing incision of her posterior repair and excision of suture granuloma. She was found to have squamous cell carcinoma of the vagina. CONCLUSIONS: In the differential of any vaginal abnormality, although rare, vaginal cancer should be included in the differential diagnosis.