Chapter 1: The History of Stereotactic Radiosurgery

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Mechanical Thrombectomy for Large Vessel Occlusions in Cocaine Associated Acute Ischemic Stroke: Small Case Series and Review of the Literature

Cocaine through multifactorial pathogenetic mechanisms causes small and large vessel occlusions (LVO) leading to acute ischemic stroke. The optimal treatment for cocaine related LVO remains unknown. Mechanical thrombectomy (MT) poses a unique challenge, and successful MT are not widely reported. We report three patients with no other risk factors and a common history of cocaine metabolites found on presentation drug screen who underwent MT for MCA occlusions with subsequent failed recanalization or vessel re-occlusion due to persistent thrombosis and severe vasospasm.Two patients initially had good revascularization but then developed severe vasospasm and reoccluded, and the remaining patient had persistent severe distal vasospasm. Rescue therapy either with balloon angioplasty with stent placement or intraarterial vasodilator was used in all patients and was ineffective. All patient had large hemispheric strokes and developed malignant cerebral edema requiring hemicraniectomy in two of them. We also did literature review and summarized previously reported cases of cocaine associated vasospasm in MT and other endovascular procedures. In this case series, cocaine induced vasospasm contributed to unsuccessful recanalization and reocclusion in patients undergoing MT with poor outcomes. Further studies are needed to ascertain strategies for improved outcomes in patients with LVO related to cocaine use

Do economic reforms and human capital explain post-reform growth?

By employing a conventional production function, this study advances theoretical and empirical research on the role of economic reforms and human capital on the post-reform economic growth. We construct two unique indices - a composite economic reform index and a human capital index - to perform a comparative analysis of a panel data model and to demonstrate that human capital and economic reforms have had a significant positive effect on economic growth in India and South Korea in the post-reform period. This positive effect is revealed in both contemporaneous and lagged estimations. The impact of reforms is found to be much stronger in South Korea than in India. This study also demonstrates the importance of time-invariant country-specific characteristics, and suggests that policies aimed to improve human capital accumulation have complementary effects on the efficacy of economic reforms.economic growth, human capital, economic reforms, India, South Korea,

Old Capital vs. New Investment in Post-Soviet Economies: Conceptual Issues and Estimates

The paper evaluates levels and trends in capital accumulation in countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) since the start of market reforms. Based on certain assumptions about the survival rate of the old Soviet era capital and perpetual inventory method to account for new investments, we estimate the amount of ‘market-quality’ capital accumulated in the CIS economies in the 1992–2005 period. Over the period of observation, in Russia the losses of the 1990s were largely restored while most other countries saw a decline in capital stock. Russia remains the highest capitalised CIS country with capital–labour ratio (K/L) of about $40,000 per worker. The lowest capitalised countries have K/L's from $10 to $13,000. Growth accounting using market-quality capital stock shows that the key factor of GDP changes was the dynamics of total factor productivity. Comparative Economic Studies (2008) 50, 79–110. doi:10.1057/palgrave.ces.8100237