Violence in the first millennium BCE Eurasian steppe: Cranial trauma in three Turpan Basin populations from Xinjiang, China.

OBJECTIVES: Violence affected daily life in prehistoric societies, especially at conflict zones where different peoples fought over resources and for other reasons. In this study, cranial trauma was analyzed to discuss the pattern of violence experienced by three Bronze to early Iron Age populations (1,000-100 BCE) that belonged to the Subeixi culture. These populations lived in the Turpan Basin, a conflict zone in the middle of the Eurasian Steppe. METHODS: The injuries on 129 complete crania unearthed from the Subeixi cemeteries were examined for crude prevalence rate (CPR), trauma type, time of occurrence, possible weapon, and direction of the blow. Thirty-three injuries identified from poorly preserved crania were also included in the analyses except for the CPR. Data was also compared between the samples and with four other populations that had violence-related backgrounds. RESULTS: Overall, 16.3% (21/129) of the individuals showed violence-induced traumatic lesions. Results also indicated that most of the injuries were perimortem (81.6%), and that women and children were more involved in conflict than the other comparative populations. Wounds from weapons accounted for 42.1% of the identified cranial injuries. Distribution analysis suggested no dominant handedness of the attackers, and that blows came from all directions including the top (17.1%). Wounds caused by arrowheads and a special type of battle-ax popular in middle and eastern Eurasian Steppe were also recognized. DISCUSSION: A comprehensive analysis of the skeletal evidence, historical records, and archeological background would suggest that the raiding to be the most possible conflict pattern reflected by the samples. The attackers were likely to have been nomadic invaders from the steppe (such as the Xiongnu from historical records), who attacked the residents in the basin more likely for their resources rather than territory or labor force.

Endemic violence in a pre-Hispanic Andean community: A bioarchaeological study of cranial trauma from the Majes Valley, Peru.

OBJECTIVES: This study examines violence-related cranial trauma frequencies and wound characteristics in the pre-Hispanic cemetery of Uraca in the lower Majes Valley, Arequipa, Peru, dating to the pre- and early-Wari periods (200-750 CE). Cranial wounds are compared between status and sex-based subgroups to understand how violence shaped, and was shaped by, these aspects of identity, and to reconstruct the social contexts of violence carried out by and against Uracans. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Presence, location, and characteristics (lethality, penetration, and post-traumatic sequelae) of antemortem and perimortem cranial fractures are documented for 145 crania and compared between subgroups. Cranial wounds are mapped in ArcGIS and the locational distribution of injuries is compared between male and female crania. RESULTS: Middle adult males were disproportionately interred at Uraca, particularly in the elite Sector I. The Uraca mortuary population presents the highest rate of cranial trauma reported for pre-Hispanic Peru: 67% of adults present trauma, and among those, 61.1% present more than one cranial injury. Males exhibit significantly more cranial trauma than females and present a higher mean number of injuries per person. Elite males show the highest mean number of injuries per person, more antemortem injuries, and are the only ones with perimortem cranial trauma, bladed injuries, penetrating injuries, and post-traumatic sequelae. Both sexes were most frequently injured on the anterior of the cranium, while the proportion of posterior injuries was higher for females. DISCUSSION: The rate, intensity, and locational patterns of cranial trauma suggests the community was engaged in raids and/or war with enemy groups, some of which may have increased physical violence between community members. Engaging in violence was likely a prerequisite for burial in the elite sector and was bound up with the generation and maintenance of social status differences linked to male social life.

The incidence and etiology of sixth cranial nerve palsy in Koreans: A 10-year nationwide cohort study.

We aimed to investigate the incidence, prevalence, and etiology of sixth cranial nerve (CN6) palsy in the general Korean population. The nationally representative dataset of the Korea National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort from 2006 through 2015 was analyzed. The incidence and prevalence of CN6 palsy were estimated in the cohort population, confirming that incident cases of CN6 palsy involved a preceding disease-free period of ≥4 years. The etiologies of CN6 palsy were presumed using comorbidity conditions. Among the 1,108,256 cohort subjects, CN6 palsy developed in 486 patients during the 10-year follow-up. The overall incidence of CN6 palsy was estimated to be 4.66 per 100,000 person-years (95% confidence interval [CI], 4.26-5.08) in the general population. This incidence increased with age, accelerating after 60 years of age and peaking at 70-74 years of age. The mean male-to-female incidence ratio was estimated as 1.41 in the whole population, and the incidence and prevalence of CN6 palsy showed an increasing trend over time in the study period. Surgical incidence for CN6 palsy was only 0.19 per 100,000 person-years (95% CI, 0.12-0.29). The etiologies were presumed to be vascular (56.6%), idiopathic (27.2%), neoplastic (5.6%), and traumatic (4.9%). In conclusion, the incidence of CN6 palsy increases with age, peaking at around 70 years, and shows a mild male predominance in Koreans.

Protective effects of Ganoderma lucidum on the changes made in the retinal damage induced by traumatic head injury / Efectos protectores de Ganoderma lucidum sobre los cambios producidos en el daño retinal inducido por lesión traumática en la cabeza

Head trauma affects the optic nerve visual function and visual acuity. As a result of head trauma occurring in the retina of the various biochemical, histological and immunohistochemical effects were investigated. The protective effect of Ganoderma lucidum was evaluated on the damage to the retina of the rats. Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to traumatic brain injury with a weight-drop device using 300 g-1 m weight-height impact. Thirty rats were divided into three groups as group 1 control, 2 group trauma, 3 group trauma+Gonoderma lucidum (20 mL/kg per day via gastric gavage) Ganoderma lucidum was administered for 7 days after trauma.All rats were decapitated 5 days after the induction of trauma, and the protective effects of Ganoderma lucidum in retina were evaluated by histological, immunohistochemical and biochemical analyses. The antioxidant effect of Ganoderma lucidum on the cellular degeneration extracellular matrix and retinal barrier in retina after head trauma was investigated.

El traumatismo craneal afecta al nervio óptico en relación a su función y la agudeza visual. Se estudiaron los diversos efectos bioquímicos, histológicos e inmunohistoquímicos en la retina producidos por una lesión y trauma a la cabeza. En esta investigación se evaluó el efecto protector de Gonaderin lucidum sobre el daño a la retina de ratas. Ratas Sprague-Dawley fueron sometidas a una lesión cerebral traumática con un dispositivo de caída de peso usando un impacto de 300 g-1 m de peso-altura. Treinta ratas se dividieron en tres grupos: grupo 1, de control; grupo 2, trauma; grupo 3, de trauma + Gonoderma lucidum (20 ml / kg día, a través de una sonda gástrica). Ganoderma lucidum se administró durante 7 días después del trauma. Todas las ratas fueron decapitadas 5 días después. La inducción del trauma y los efectos protectores de Ganoderma lucidum en la retina fueron evaluados mediante análisis histológicos, inmunohistoquímicos y bioquímicos. Se investigó el efecto antioxidante de Ganoderma lucidum sobre la degeneración celular en la matriz extracelular y la barrera retiniana en la retina después del traumatismo craneal.

Repeated head trauma is associated with smaller thalamic volumes and slower processing speed: the Professional Fighters' Brain Health Study.

OBJECTIVES: Cumulative head trauma may alter brain structure and function. We explored the relationship between exposure variables, cognition and MRI brain structural measures in a cohort of professional combatants. METHODS: 224 fighters (131 mixed martial arts fighters and 93 boxers) participating in the Professional Fighters Brain Health Study, a longitudinal cohort study of licensed professional combatants, were recruited, as were 22 controls. Each participant underwent computerised cognitive testing and volumetric brain MRI. Fighting history including years of fighting and fights per year was obtained from self-report and published records. Statistical analyses of the baseline evaluations were applied cross-sectionally to determine the relationship between fight exposure variables and volumes of the hippocampus, amygdala, thalamus, caudate, putamen. Moreover, the relationship between exposure and brain volumes with cognitive function was assessed. RESULTS: Increasing exposure to repetitive head trauma measured by number of professional fights, years of fighting, or a Fight Exposure Score (FES) was associated with lower brain volumes, particularly the thalamus and caudate. In addition, speed of processing decreased with decreased thalamic volumes and with increasing fight exposure. Higher scores on a FES used to reflect exposure to repetitive head trauma were associated with greater likelihood of having cognitive impairment. CONCLUSIONS: Greater exposure to repetitive head trauma is associated with lower brain volumes and lower processing speed in active professional fighters.

[Comparative evaluation of effectiveness of the combined immunocorrection in patients suffering severe craniocerebral trauma].

Comparative estimation of clinical efficacy of various immunocorrection schemes for the immune state correction was conducted in 106 patients in conditions ofsevere craniocerebral trauma (SCCT), combined application of immunofan and intravenous laser irradiation of blood (IVLIB). In 32 patients (I group) a standard intensive therapy (SITH) was conducted: in 21 (II group)--immunofan was applied additionally; in 25 (III group)--in addition to SITH IVLIB was conducted; in 28 (IV group)--immunofan solution was infused and sessions of IVLIB (3 - 4 sessions a day) on a background of SITH were conducted. The immunity indices were analyzed on the 1 - 2, 5 - 6-th and 9 -10-th days after trauma. Estimation of the combined therapy efficacy have shown, that in SCCT she renders a significant immunocorrecting effect on the 5 - 6-th days already, on the 9 - 10-th days the immune state parameters were really normalized, reduction of the complications rate by 26% and of lethality by 8.6% was noted.

Study of the neuroprotective effect of ginseng on superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) levels in experimental diffuse head trauma.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of our study was to investigate the effect of ginseng on antioxidant enzyme levels in brain damage following experimental diffuse head trauma in rats. The neuroprotective effect of ginseng was also studied. METHODS: In this study, rats were divided into four groups, and the rats in group 1 received no intervention. In group 2, the rats were administered 50 mg/kg ginseng, injected intraperitoneally at 1, 24 and 48 h, and the effect of ginseng on normal tissues was studied. No drugs were administered to the rats in group 3 who had previously experienced diffuse head trauma using Feeney's falling weight method. In group 4, rats underwent Feeney's falling weight method, leading to diffuse head trauma, and they were given 50 mg/kg ginseng intraperitoneally 1, 24 and 48 h after head trauma. Rats were killed 72 h after head trauma and their brain tissues extracted for histopathological and biochemical studies. RESULTS: Histopathological study of brain cross sections in the trauma group demonstrated neurons in the trauma region and surrounding area, which generally had a dark-colored eosinophilic cytoplasm and a pyknotic nucleus, while the nuclei of neurons were located peripherally. However, brain cross sections in group 4 from rats given ginseng after head trauma showed fewer neurons with eosinophilic cytoplasm, pyknotic and peripheral nuclei in the trauma region and surrounding area. No statistically significant difference in the tissue SOD level was observed; however, the GSH Px level in group 4 was significantly reduced compared to that in group 3. CONCLUSIONS: After affecting the GSH Px level and reducing histopathological scores, ginseng was found to display antioxidant and neuroprotective activity.

Boxing and mixed martial arts: preliminary traumatic neuromechanical injury risk analyses from laboratory impact dosage data.

OBJECT: In spite of ample literature pointing to rotational and combined impact dosage being key contributors to head and neck injury, boxing and mixed martial arts (MMA) padding is still designed to primarily reduce cranium linear acceleration. The objects of this study were to quantify preliminary linear and rotational head impact dosage for selected boxing and MMA padding in response to hook punches; compute theoretical skull, brain, and neck injury risk metrics; and statistically compare the protective effect of various glove and head padding conditions. METHODS: An instrumented Hybrid III 50th percentile anthropomorphic test device (ATD) was struck in 54 pendulum impacts replicating hook punches at low (27-29 J) and high (54-58 J) energy. Five padding combinations were examined: unpadded (control), MMA glove-unpadded head, boxing glove-unpadded head, unpadded pendulum-boxing headgear, and boxing glove-boxing headgear. A total of 17 injury risk parameters were measured or calculated. RESULTS: All padding conditions reduced linear impact dosage. Other parameters significantly decreased, significantly increased, or were unaffected depending on padding condition. Of real-world conditions (MMA glove-bare head, boxing glove-bare head, and boxing glove-headgear), the boxing glove-headgear condition showed the most meaningful reduction in most of the parameters. In equivalent impacts, the MMA glove-bare head condition induced higher rotational dosage than the boxing glove-bare head condition. Finite element analysis indicated a risk of brain strain injury in spite of significant reduction of linear impact dosage. CONCLUSIONS: In the replicated hook punch impacts, all padding conditions reduced linear but not rotational impact dosage. Head and neck dosage theoretically accumulates fastest in MMA and boxing bouts without use of protective headgear. The boxing glove-headgear condition provided the best overall reduction in impact dosage. More work is needed to develop improved protective padding to minimize linear and rotational impact dosage and develop next-generation standards for head and neck injury risk.

Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation and reduction of traumatic axonal injury in a rodent head injury model.

OBJECT: Traumatic brain injury remains the most common cause of death in persons under 45 years of age in the Western world. Recent evidence from animal studies suggests that supplementation with omega-3 fatty acid (O3FA) (particularly eicosapentaenoic acid [EPA] and docosahexaenoic acid [DHA]) improves functional outcomes following focal neural injury. The purpose of this study is to determine the benefits of O3FA supplementation following diffuse axonal injury in rats. METHODS: Forty adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were used. Three groups of 10 rats were subjected to an impact acceleration injury and the remaining group underwent a sham-injury procedure (surgery, but no impact injury). Two of the groups subjected to the injury were supplemented with 10 or 40 mg/kg/day of O3FA; the third injured group served as an unsupplemented control group. The sham-injured rats likewise received no O3FA supplementation. Serum fatty acid levels were determined from the isolated plasma phospholipids prior to the injury and at the end of the 30 days of supplementation. After the animals had been killed, immunohistochemical analysis of brainstem white matter tracts was performed to assess the presence of ß-amyloid precursor protein (APP), a marker of axonal injury. Immunohistochemical analyses of axonal injury mechanisms-including analysis for caspase-3, a marker of apoptosis; RMO-14, a marker of neurofilament compaction; and cytochrome c, a marker of mitochondrial injury-were performed. RESULTS: Dietary supplementation with a fish oil concentrate rich in EPA and DHA for 30 days resulted in significant increases in O3FA serum levels: 11.6% ± 4.9% over initial levels in the 10 mg/kg/day group and 30.7% ± 3.6% in the 40 mg/kg/day group. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed significantly (p < 0.05) decreased numbers of APP-positive axons in animals receiving O3FA supplementation: 7.7 ± 14.4 axons per mm(2) in the 10 mg/kg/day group and 6.2 ± 11.4 axons per mm(2) in the 40 mg/kg/day group, versus 182.2 ± 44.6 axons per mm(2) in unsupplemented animals. Sham-injured animals had 4.1 ± 1.3 APP-positive axons per mm(2). Similarly, immunohistochemical analysis of caspase-3 expression demonstrated significant (p < 0.05) reduction in animals receiving O3FA supplementation, 18.5 ± 28.3 axons per mm(2) in the 10 mg/kg/day group and 13.8 ± 18.9 axons per mm(2) in the 40 mg/kg/day group, versus 129.3 ± 49.1 axons per mm(2) in unsupplemented animals. CONCLUSIONS: Dietary supplementation with a fish oil concentrate rich in the O3FAs EPA and DHA increases serum levels of these same fatty acids in a dose-response effect. Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation significantly reduces the number of APP-positive axons at 30 days postinjury to levels similar to those in uninjured animals. Omega-3 fatty acids are safe, affordable, and readily available worldwide to potentially reduce the burden of traumatic brain injury.

Early neurorehabilitation in a patient with severe traumatic brain injury to the frontal lobes.

BACKGROUND: It seems to be generally believed that early neurostimulation after severe TBI is useless or even harmful, and neuropsychological intervention should not be initiated until the patient is medically stable. On the other hand, the unstimulated brain can incur irreversible damage. The purpose of the present study is to assess the impact of early neuropsychological rehabilitation on a patient with an extremely severe TBI. CASE REPORT: The patient, a 32-year old male, suffered a massive cranio-facial injury with significant loss of tissue in the right frontal lobes after being struck by a tram. Beginning two weeks after injury, after pharmacological coma, he was attended on a daily basis by a neuropsychologist and a neurolinguist, with the active assistance of his family, when he was still in critical condition and essentially without logical contact. By the time he returned to Scotland 4 weeks later, he was sitting up, writing complete, sensible and grammatical sentences, and making rapid progress every day despite the development of hydrocephalus. Over the course of neurorehabilitation, most of MF's cognitive dysfunctions resolved. Six months later, however, hydrocephalus was increasing and the patient was showing severe frontal syndrome. A personalized version of Community Based Rehabilitation was applied. After two weeks of intensive treatment considerable improvement was achieved and frontal syndrome was reduced. CONCLUSIONS: The present case suggests that the prevailing views regarding the inadvisability of early neurorehabilitation in the acute phase after TBI should be reconsidered.

Stiletto stabbing: penetrating injury to the hypothalamus with hyperacute diabetes insipidus.

Diabetes insipidus (DI) is a well documented complication observed after traumatic head injuries. We report a case of hyperacute onset DI in a 19-year-old male who sustained a hypothalamic-pituitary injury when he was stabbed in the head with a 30-cm long thin-bladed knife. At CT, our patient showed significant hemorrhagic contusions of the lower hypothalamus. He developed polydipsia, polyuria, and mild hypernatremia in the Emergency Department. Diagnostic digital subtraction angiography showed a hypervascular congestive pituitary gland with prominent draining veins. On the third day his hypernatremia became severe (183mEq/L). He was managed with parenteral fluids and a regimen of intranasal DDAVP (1-desamino 8-d-arginine vasopressin), leading to improved plasmatic sodium levels, urine output, and urinary specific gravity. In patients presenting with hyperacute posttraumatic DI, emergency room physicians and neurosurgeons should rule out direct injury to the hypothalamus and/or the posterior lobe of the pituitary, and initiate early pharmacological treatment.

Docosahexaenoic acid reduces traumatic axonal injury in a rodent head injury model.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains the most common cause of death in persons under age 45 in the Western world. Recent evidence from animal studies suggests that supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids (O3FA) improves functional outcomes following focal neural injury. The purpose of this study is to determine the benefits of DHA supplementation following diffuse axonal injury in rats. Four groups of 10 adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to an impact acceleration injury and then received 30 days of supplementation with either 10 mg/kg/d or 40 mg/kg/d of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Serum fatty acid levels were determined from the isolated plasma phospholipids prior to injury and at the end of the 30 days of DHA supplementation. Following sacrifice, brainstem white matter tracts underwent fluorescent immunohistochemical processing for labeling of ß-amyloid precursor protein (APP), a marker of axonal injury. Dietary supplementation with either 10 mg/kg/d or 40 mg/kg/d of DHA for 30 days results in significantly (p < 0.05) increased DHA serum levels of 123% and 175% over baseline, respectively. Immunohistochemical analysis reveals significantly (p < 0.05) decreased numbers of APP-positive axons in animals receiving dietary supplementation with DHA, 26.1 (SD 5.3) for 10 mg/kg/d, and 19.6 (SD 4.7) for 40 mg/kg/d axons per mm(2), versus 147.7 (SD 7.1) axons in unsupplemented animals. Sham-injured animals had 6.4 (SD 13.9) APP positive axons per mm(2). Dietary supplementation with DHA increases serum levels in a dose-dependent manner. DHA supplementation significantly reduces the number of APP-positive axons at 30 days post-injury, to levels similar to seen those in uninjured animals. DHA is safe, affordable, and readily available worldwide to potentially reduce the burden of TBI.

[Myocardial damage and change of mitochondrial Mn-superoxide dismutase activity in craniocerebral injured rats and the intervening effect of ginkgo biloba extract].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the myocardial damage and changes of myocardial mitochondrial Mn-superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD) activity in craniocerebral injured rats and the effect of Ginkgo biloba extract (GBE) on them. METHODS: Craniocerebral injured rats model was established by fluid-percussion and treated with GBE. The dynamical changes of electrocardiograph (ECG) in 24 h were monitored, the serum level of MB isoenzyme of creatine kinase (CK-MB) and the change of myocardial mitochondrial Mn-SOD activity as well as the pathologic changes of myocardium (HE staining) were observed. RESULTS: The occurrence of ECG abnormality obviously increased in the injured rats, accompanied with increased serum CK-MB (P<0.05) and decreased myocardial Mn-SOD levels (P<0.05), and the Mn-SOD activity was negatively correlated with the level of CK-MB (r=-0.997, P<0.05). Pretreatment of GBE resulted in the decrease of ECG abnormality occurrence (P<0.01), serum CK-MB level (P<0.05), and degree of myocardial damage, as well as the increase of Mn-SOD activity in post-craniocerebral injured rats. CONCLUSIONS: Craniocerebral injury can result in distinct myocardial damage, which is possibly correlated with the lowering of anti-oxidation stress level of myocardial cellular mitochondria. GBE possesses the protective effect on myocardial damage after craniocerebral injury.

Low signal intensity and increased anisotropy on magnetic resonance imaging in the white matter lesion after head trauma: unrecognized findings of diffuse axonal injury.

We report on a four-year-old girl with head trauma caused by a motor vehicle accident. She presented with delirium, oculomotor palsy and ptosis in her left eye, left hemiparesis, and pyramidal signs in all extremities. Computed tomography on the day of admission showed diffuse cerebral edema with right-sided predominance. Magnetic resonance images on day 3 of admission showed lesions of diffuse axonal injury and contusion in the corpus callosum and right occipital and bilateral temporal lobes. There was a low-intensity lesion in the white matter of the right hemisphere on T2-weighted images, fluid-attenuated inversion recovery, T2()-weighted images, apparent diffusion coefficient maps and diffusion-weighted images. This low-intensity lesion disappeared by day 7, and a transient brain atrophy in the right hemisphere appeared on day 28. The low signal intensity in the cerebral white matter was apparently different from that associated with contusion and typical diffuse axonal injury, and might represent a late-onset accumulation of non-heme iron and free radicals in the white matter after head trauma.

El accidente de phineas gage: su legado a la neurobiología

Phineas Gage es a no dudar, uno de los pacientes más famosos de la historia de la neurología, una cita indefectible en textos neurológicos y objeto de numerosos artículos científicos a lo largo de más de ciento cincuenta años. Este caso tan excepcional ha permitido establecer el papel principal que en el pensamiento y en la capacidad de sociabilizar tienen las regiones frontales del cerebro, especialmente la porción ventromedial, así como los circuitos y sistemas relacionados con las emociones, cuya activación conjunta con las regiones frontales, participa de forma fundamental en la planificación y toma de decisiones, y contribuye a determinar el tono afectivo de nuestras relaciones sociales. Una revisión sumaria de la historia de la medicina nos indica que es inusual que el nombre de un paciente y no el del médico que describe una situación clínica, sea mencionado para la posteridad. ¿Por qué entonces se recuerda el nombre de Gage y no el de su médico tratante y acusioso descriptor de su insania, John Martyn Harlow? Quizá porque el caso es todavía considerado como una de las mejores descripciones de un desorden "psicopático" del comportamiento relacionado con una lesión traumática del córtex prefrontal, donde la correlación anatomoclínica ha sido intentada empleando diversas concepciones y métodos a la usanza de los diversos momentos históricos. La ocasión de este relato permitirá al lector pasearse a través de la fascinante evolución y perfeccionamiento de las ideas que han llevado al conocimiento actual de la localización de las funciones neurológicas, y a atisbar el desentrañamiento de los loci de la mente y del espíritu

Phineas Gage is doubtless one of the most famous patients in the history of neurology. An infallible quote in neurology textbooks and the object of numerous scientific articles for over one hundred and fifty years. This exceptional case has allowed investigators to establish the role of the frontal cortex, specifically its ventromedial portion in the development of human thought and his/her capacity to socialize and also the close relationship of these structures with emotion-related circuits and systems which participate in the decision-making process and contributes to determine the affective tone of social interaction. A brief glance at the history of medicine shows it is exceedingly infrequent for a patient's name to transcend into posterity. Why then is the name Gage remembered instead of John Martin Harlow's, the keen describer of Gage's insanity? Perhaps because Gage's case is still considered one of the salient descriptions of a "psychopathic" disorder of behavior directly related to a traumatic lesion of the prefrontal cortex in which an anatomoclinical correlation has been attempted through diverse conceptions and methods tailored to each historical period of time. Gage's tale will take the reader for a ride along the fascinating evolutional pathways of medical thinking that have permitted the acquisition of knowledgeable localization of neurological function and allowed scientists to peep into the entangled realm of the mind and spirit

[Study of the systemic-organ blood circulation in acute period of the multiple trauma based on water-electrolytic metabolism and its correction with EHF-therapy].

In the present paper the new approach to study of relationships of system blood circulation and its correction with the help of effect of EHF-therapy on the organism of person is offered. The method is based on the study of dynamic indexes of water-electrolytic metabolism, cell structure of a blood, ECG, REG, computer-aided tomography of the brain. The correlation between cell structure of blood, ionic structure and dynamic indexes of water-electrolytic metabolism is found out. Some parameters, factor of solubility of oxygen, parameters of a common water of organism were designed.

Beyond palisades: The nature and frequency of late prehistoric deliberate violent trauma in the Chickamauga reservoir of east Tennessee.

Based on the presence of palisades and an iconography suggesting a warrior elite, warfare is presumed to be endemic in the Late Mississippian period (AD 1200-1600) of the southeastern United States. Warfare is theorized to play a vital role in the cycling of chiefdoms. However, apart from a few exemplary cases that display double-digit frequencies, very little direct (i.e., skeletal) evidence of violent trauma has dovetailed with the archaeological presumptions of warfare. Eight sites from the Chickamauga Reservoir of east Tennessee were examined for skeletal evidence of deliberate violent trauma. Violent trauma was anticipated because these sites are in close proximity and consist of two adjacent, sociopolitically distinct, and temporally overlapping phases: Dallas (AD 1300-1600) and Mouse Creek (AD 1400-1600). In addition to small, round, nonlethal ectocranial blunt-force trauma (BFT) on the frontal and upper parietal bones, inflicted projectile points and scalping were identified. The low total trauma frequency in the Dallas sample (3.86%, n = 259) is consistent with emerging evidence from east and west Tennessee Late Mississippian data, but significantly different from Mouse Creek (8.06%, n = 273). The proportion of nonlethal cranial BFT in the collective Chickamauga sample is large and at odds with the Tennessee River Valley comparative literature. Based on other bioarchaeological literature, this pattern suggests intragroup violence, but not face-to-face ritual contests. It is better explained as interpersonal conflict resolution along codified lines. This is consistent with southeastern ethnohistoric data and may explain the more frequent cranial BFT in the less stratified Mouse Creek phase, which likely would not have had an overarching civil authority.

Disease in the neolithic population of the Lengyel culture (4300-4000 B.C.) from the Kujawy region in north-central Poland.

In this paper the skeletal sample from Oslonki near Wloclawek (Kujawy region) is analysed. It is dated back to 4300-4000 B.C. The material consists of skeletal remains of 92 individuals (being one of the largest samples from the neolithic period in Poland). Skeletons were examined for the presence of congenital malformation, traumatic and degenerative changes, diseases of the masticatory system, and cribra orbitalia. Some interesting results have been achieved by comparing the incidences of diseases regarding sex groups: pathological alterations were observed with greater frequency in male than female skeletons.

Use of magnetic resonance imaging for in vivo measurements of water content in human brain: method and normal values.

OBJECT: The authors present a quantitative in vivo magnetic resonance (MR) imaging method and propose its use for the accurate assessment of brain water in humans. METHODS: With this technique, a pure T1-weighted image of a selected brain slice in a patient is generated, and the image is subsequently converted to a pure water image by means of an equation derived from a tissue relaxation model. The image intensity in the resulting water map directly yields absolute measures of water expressed in grams of water per gram of tissue at a given anatomical location. The method has been validated previously in a series of phantom experiments and in an infusion model of brain edema in cats. In this report, the authors evaluate the method by using samples of tissue harvested from patients who underwent surgery for brain tumor removal and apply the technique to a series of normal volunteers, providing average regional brain water content (f(w)) values for a range of tissues. Application of the method in pathological conditions such as head trauma, tumor, and hydrocephalus allows quantification of regional or global increases in f(w) that result from edema. CONCLUSIONS: It is now possible to obtain accurate brain water measurements with the anatomical resolution of MR imaging. This permits monitoring of the development and resolution of edema in a variety of clinical circumstances, thus enhancing understanding of the underlying pathophysiological processes.