Mechanisms of Secondary Brain Damage from Trauma and Ischemia Recent Advances of our Understanding

Top level clinical and laboratory scientists present their most recent clinical and experimental findings and concepts. The well balanced contributions illustrate the enormous significance of the dialogue between both laboratory and clinic, ultimately for the benefit of the patients, and contribute to a better understanding of secondary brain damage from trauma and ischemia as basis to develop more effective treatment including drugs.

Secondary brain damage — the basic sciences.- Knowledge matters.- Gene profiling — chances and challenges.- Role of mitochondrial proteins for neuronal cell death after focal cerebral ischemia.- Signalling mechanisms for survival of lesioned motoneurons.- Genetically modified animals in molecular stroke research.- Progress in the understanding of brain injury from ischemia.- The Janus face of inflammation in ischemic brain injury.- The natural course of lesion development in brain ischemia.- Pharmalogical preconditioning in global cerebral ischemia.- Traumatic brain and spinal cordinjury — the experimental approach.- The role of inflammatory processes in the pathophysiology and treatment of brain and spinal cord trauma.- L-type calcium channel antagonist nifedipine reduces neurofilament restitution following traumatic optic nerve injury.- Neuronal activity and cortical perfusion determined by quantitative EEG analysis and laser Doppler flowmetry are uncoupled in brain injured rats.- Glial scar and axonal regeneration in the CNS: lessons from GFAP and vimentin transgenic mice.- Traumatic brain and spinal cord injury — clinical progress including treatment.- Recovery from spinal cord injury — underlying mechanisms and efficacy of rehabilitation.- Lessons from epidemiologic studies in clinical trials of traumatic brain injury.- The MRC CRASH trial — a large, simple randomised trial of steroids in head injury.- Clinical trials in traumatic brain injury: current problems and future solutions.- Prospective documentation and analysis of the pre- and early clinical management in severe head injury in Southern Bavaria at a population based level.- Author Index.- Index of Keywords.