A multicentre study on the clinical utility of post-traumatic amnesia duration in predicting global outcome after moderate-severe traumatic brain injury.

BACKGROUND: Past research shows that post-traumatic amnesia (PTA) duration is a particularly robust traumatic brain injury (TBI) outcome predictor, but low specificity limits its clinical utility. OBJECTIVES: The current study assessed the relationship between PTA duration and probability thresholds for Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) levels. METHODS: Data were prospectively collected in this multicentre observational study. The cohort was a consecutive sample of rehabilitation patients enrolled in the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research funded TBI Model Systems (n = 1332) that had documented finite PTA duration greater than 24 h, and 1-year and 2-year GOS. RESULTS: The cohort had proportionally more Good Recovery (44% vs 39%) and less Severe Disability (19% vs 23%) at year 2 than at year 1. Longer PTA resulted in an incremental decline in probability of Good Recovery and a corresponding increase in probability of Severe Disability. When PTA ended within 4 weeks, Severe Disability was unlikely (<15% chance) at year 1, and Good Recovery was the most likely GOS at year 2. When PTA lasted beyond 8 weeks, Good Recovery was highly unlikely (<10% chance) at year 1, and Severe Disability was equal to or more likely than Moderate Disability at year 2. CONCLUSIONS: Two PTA durations, 4 weeks and 8 weeks, emerged as particularly salient GOS probability thresholds that may aid prognostication after TBI.

Suppression of graft rejection using 15-deoxyspergualin in the allogeneic rat penetrating keratoplasty model.

We tested the ability of 15-deoxyspergualin (DSG), a new immunosuppressant, to inhibit corneal allograft rejection in the rat penetrating keratoplasty model. Fifty-six inbred Lewis rats were recipients of orthotopic corneal allografts from Brown Norway rats. Allogeneic groups received daily intramuscular injections of DSG 2, 3, 4, or 10 mg/kg/day. The animals treated with 2 mg/kg/day had four out of 10 grafts rejected; in the 3 mg/kg/day group none of the six grafts rejected; whereas in the 4 mg/kg/day group one out of 15 grafts rejected. The animals treated with 10 mg/kg/day became emaciated and died during the second and third postoperative weeks with relatively clear grafts. All corneas rejected following discontinuation of the drug. We conclude that the systemic administration of DSG at 3 or 4 mg/kg/day results in effective suppression of corneal allograft rejection in the rat penetrating keratoplasty model.