Contribution of brain or biological reserve and cognitive or neural reserve to outcome after TBI: a meta-analysis (prior to 2015)

Brain/biological (BR) and cognitive/neural reserve (CR) have increasingly been used to explain some of the variability that occurs as a consequence of normal ageing and neurological injuries or disease. However, research evaluating the impact of reserve on outcomes after adult traumatic brain injury (TBI) has yet to be quantitatively reviewed. This meta-analysis consolidated data from 90 studies (published prior to 2015) that either examined the relationship between measures of BR (genetics, age, sex) or CR (education, premorbid IQ) and outcomes after TBI or compared the outcomes of groups with high and low reserve. The evidence for genetic sources of reserve was limited and often contrary to prediction. APOE ∈4 status has been studied most, but did not have a consistent or sizeable impact on outcomes. The majority of studies found that younger age was associated with better outcomes, however most failed to adjust for normal age-related changes in cognitive performance that are independent of a TBI. This finding was reversed (older adults had better outcomes) in the small number of studies that provided age-adjusted scores; although it remains unclear whether differences in the cause and severity of injuries that are sustained by younger and older adults contributed to this finding. Despite being more likely to sustain a TBI, males have comparable outcomes to females. Overall, as is the case in the general population, higher levels of education and pre-morbid IQ are both associated with better outcomes.Jane L. Mathias, Patricia Wheato

Virtual Reality or Virtually Real : Blended Teaching and Learning in a Master's Level Research Methods Class

This paper examines the enabling effect of using blended learning and synchronous internet mediated communication technologies to improve learning and develop a Sense of Community (SOC) in a group of post graduate students consisting of a mix of on-campus and off campus students. Both quantitative and qualitative data collected over a number of years supports the assertion that the blended learning environment enhanced both teaching and learning. The development of a SOC was pivotal to the success of the blended approach when working with geographically isolated groups within a single learning environment

Hemodinámica cerebral en pacientes con traumatismo craneoencefálico evaluada por doppler transcraneal y duplex transcraneal con codificación en color: estudio comparativo

Objetivos. Comparar el número de vasos identifi- cados y las velocidades e índices de pulsatilidad de los mismos mediante doppler transcraneal (DTC) y dúplex transcraneal codificado en color (DTCC) en una población de enfermos con traumatismo craneoencefálico (TCE). Material y métodos. Se estudiaron 30 enfermos ingresados por TCE en una Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos (UCI) neurocríticos. Consecutivamente se realizaron estudios mediante DTC y DTCC. Se compararon la tasa de insonación de las arterias del polígono de Willis y los parámetros hemodinámicos obtenidos. Resultados. La edad media fue de 50 años. El 67% fueron varones. En el estudio mediante DTCC se insonó la arteria carótida interna en un 95% de los casos, la arteria cerebral media (ACM) en el 95% de las ocasiones, la arteria cerebral anterior (ACA) en un 91% y la arteria cerebral posterior (ACP) en un 92% de los estudios. Mediante DTC convencional se hallaron en un 29%, 93%, 67% y 35% respectivamente. La velocidad media mediante DTCC y DTC en la ACM fue de 79 cm/ seg vs 59 cm/seg respectivamente (p<0.0001), en la ACA de 61 cm/seg vs 42 cm/seg (p<0.0001) y en la ACP de 43 cm/seg y 33 cm/seg (p<0.0001). Conclusiones. El DTCC permite un estudio hemodinámico más completo en los enfermos con TCE ingresados en la UCI. Su impacto en el pronóstico del TCE deberá determinarse en próximos estudios