Display omitted
•Any medium of accessing digital information is a digital intermediary.•Accessing information on the COVID-19 pandemic relys on digital intermediaries.•Digital spaces have been ...recognized as important social determinants of health.•Mechanisms of some digital intermediaries do not gurantee truthfulness of content.•Data curation changes both the availability of information and the users’ dispositions.•Ethical governance of digital data curation is needed to ensure truthfulness of its content.
Digital technologies have a significant role in collecting, filtering and disseminating information, allowing for social, healthcare and economic activities even in the context of highly restrictive public health measures in the current COVID-19 pandemic. As personal contact is greatly reduced, they also create a shared informational landscape, allowing for a shared threat response. This is a difficult task, since truthfulness of content that leads to actionable knowledge is impossible to consistently validate. So, not only that curation of information is rarely congruent with pressing health issues, but digital spaces may also become fertile ground for misinformation and disinformation, contributing to the devastating effects of an infodemic.
Digital intermediaries are useful exactly because their representation of reality is not a true construct, but a result of purposely curated information. However, they are active, dynamic epistemological agents with their own logic and aim. In dealing with a pandemic, we should reconsider the ways how our digital informational landscapes are created and sustained. This urges us to consider ethical governance of digital data curation and dissemination, alongside forms of control of the truthfulness and reach of its content.
Some of the most fundamental issues in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, including the newly available vaccines are reliant on digital information and data sharing among experts, and the role of informing the general public. The need to create a reproducible, valid and truthful informational landscape is paramount, while allowing for free and rational, behavioral individual choices oriented toward preserving and promoting healthy behavior. These are issues at the heart of dealing with any pandemic, as well as a well-organized health care policy.
Art is a product of human creativity; it is a superior skill that can be learned by study, practice and observation. Modern neuroscience and neuroimaging enable study of the processes during artistic ...performance. Creative people have less marked hemispheric dominance. It was found that the right hemisphere is specialized for metaphoric thinking, playfulness, solution finding and synthesizing, it is the center of visualization, imagination and conceptualization, but the left hemisphere is still needed for artistic work to achieve balance. A specific functional organization of brain areas was found during visual art activities. Marked hemispheric dominance and area specialization is also very prominent for music perception. Brain is capable of making new connections, activating new pathways and unmasking secondary roads, it is "plastic". Music is a strong stimulus for neuroplasticity. fMRI studies have shown reorganization of motor and auditory cortex in professional musicians. Other studies showed the changes in neurotransmitter and hormone serum levels in correlation to music. The most prominent connection between music and enhancement of performance or changing of neuropsychological activity was shown by studies involving Mozart's music from which the theory of "The Mozart Effect" was derived. Results of numerous studies showed that listening to music can improve cognition, motor skills and recovery after brain injury. In the field of visual art, brain lesion can lead to the visuospatial neglect, loss of details and significant impairment of artistic work while the lesions affecting the left hemisphere reveal new artistic dimensions, disinhibit the right hemisphere, work is more spontaneous and emotional with the gain of artistic quality. All kinds of arts (music, painting, dancing...) stimulate the brain. They should be part of treatment processes. Work of many artists is an excellent example for the interweaving the neurology and arts.
An ischemic stroke caused by the occlusion of the artery of Percheron encompasses both posterior thalami, and the resulting clinical presentation can mask the clinical presentation of a stroke. We ...present the case report of a 62-year-old female patient who was admitted to our emergency department in a soporous state after initial headache and dizziness. A neurological exam found left-sided spasticity and a flexor response to pain. Systemic thrombolysis was administered after an urgent computerized tomography (CT) of the brain with angiography. The interventional radiologist proposed a digital subtraction angiography which found a vasospasm in the right medial cerebral artery from the M2 seg- ment reaching distally, and a balloon dilation was done. Following the endovascular procedure, a CT scan showed ischemia in both posterior thalami. Additionally, the patient’s neurological impairment improved at that moment showing Parinaud syndrome, drowsiness, and left-sided palsy. The patient experienced a possible reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome, the cause of which is still unknown, which resulted in an ischemic stroke. The typical clinical presentation of that syndrome was lacking, probably due to the presence of the artery of Percheron ipsilateral to the vasospasm. Our goal in presenting this case study is to draw attention to the artery of Percheron syndrome as a potential clinical sign of an acute ischemic stroke that can easily lead us to be misled.
Optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) enlargement is detectable in traumatic brain injury patients with raised intracranial pressure (ICP). The aim was to assess its value in neurological patients ...suspected to have increased ICP. Patient clinical imaging data and hospitalization outcome were analyzed. Patients were divided into groups according to brain pathology and level of consciousness with Glasgow Coma Score (GCS). Poor hospitalization outcome was assessed by modified Rankin scale (mRS) >3. Data obtained by ocular sonography performed in acute setting were compared with data of 100 control subjects. Data were expressed as mean + or - SD. Intergroup comparison was performed by Student's t-test. Data of 34 patients (63+16 years) were suitable for analysis, including 8 primary intracerebral hemorrhage (PICH), 8 subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), 12 PICH or SAH and intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), 4 tumors and 2 ischemic strokes. The mean ONSD was 5.86+0.69 mm in patients versus 4.38+0.41 mm in controls (p<0.01). ONSD was 6.28+0.61 mm in patients with GCS <8 and 5.77+0.55 mm in other patients (p<0.05). ONSD was 5.72+0.59 mm in PICH versus 6.20+0.65 mm in PICH/SAH with IVH (p=0.1). ONSD was 5.73+0.38 mm in SAH in comparison to PICH/SAH with IVH (p=0.05). There was no statistically significant diference in optic nerve diameter between patients and controls (2.48+0.28 mm vs. 2.39+0.33 mm; p>0.05). Pronounced enlargement of ONSD was observed in patients with ICH or SAH with IVH, and in patients with GCS <8. Enlarged ONSD was associated with poor neurological outcome (mRS >3). Key words: Optic nerve; Brain injuries, traumatic; Intracranial pressure; Ultrasonography
Stroke Caused by Lung Cancer Invading the Left Atrium Dimitrović, Ana, MD; Breitenfeld, Tomislav, MD, PhD; Supanc, Višnja, MD, PhD ...
Journal of stroke and cerebrovascular diseases,
05/2016, Volume:
25, Issue:
5
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
We describe a 59-year-old stroke patient presented with sudden onset left side weakness and a speech disorder due to a major acute cerebral infarction in the area of the right middle cerebral artery, ...right posterior cerebral artery, and small infarctions in the area of the left middle and left posterior cerebral artery. For the previous month, the patient had been feeling weak and had no appetite. The patient had not been previously seriously ill. A chest x-ray showed a large mass in the upper zone of the right lung. Chest computed tomography scan and echocardiography were performed and revealed advanced lung cancer invading the left atrium. Spontaneous tumor embolism is a rare cause of stroke and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of stroke in a cancer patient. Also, sometimes stroke can be the first manifestation of advanced cancer.
Background and purpose: Inevitable lockdown scenario during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic led to different approaches of medical care system worldwide. During this period, health care services ...faced theproblem of time, place and human resources management. However, in spite of redirecting health forces to fight this new and unknown virus in all countries, the need of routine treatment of all the other emergencies according to the guidelines remained present. The aim of our study was to analyse the acute stroke care in Croatia during first wave of Covid pandemic.Materials and methods: In order to achieve the rate of stroke patients admitted to hospital care in dedicated hospital stroke units and centers, we have gathered the data from four Croatian University Hospitals. We analyzed the number of hospitalized stroke patients from 1th of February to 1th of May 2020 and the proportions of patients treated with recanalization therapy.Results: Our results showed a slight decrease of number of all neurological patients who arrived to the Emergency Unit. In 2019 recanalization therapy was given to 158 patients (19%) vs 177 (26%) in 2020. Thrombolysis alone was given to 72 (9%) of patients in 2019 and to 68 (10%) of patients in 2020, while thrombectomy (with or without thrombolysis) has been performed to 86 (10%) vs 109 (16%) patients in 2019 and 2020 respectively.Conclusion: In conclusion, we did not notice less severe stroke patients or lower level of stroke care in University Hospitals.
Kolesterol – što niže, to bolje? Roje Bedeković, Marina
Medicus (Zagreb, Croatia : 1992),
05/2022, Volume:
31, Issue:
1 Moždani udar
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Odnos razine serumskoga kolesterola i rizika za moždani udar složen je, oprečan i prisutan u širokom rasponu serumskih razina ukupnoga kolesterola, LDL-a i HDL-a. Različite tvari različitog mehanizma ...djelovanja, ali s istim ciljem snižavanja razine serumskog LDL-a, statini, ezetimib i PCSK9 inhibitori snizuju incidenciju ishemijskoga moždanog udara, što izravno upućuje na uzročno-posljedičnu povezanost snižavanja serumske razine LDL-a i sprječavanja nastanka moždanog udara. Upozorenja o mogućemu povećanom riziku za hemoragijski moždani udar na temelju rezultata SPARCL istraživanja i statistički neznačajno povećanje rizika naznačeno u rezultatima IMPROVE-IT, FOURIER i Cholesterol Treatment Trialist metaanalize moguće upućuju kako bi značajno snižavanje LDL-C-a moglo uzrokovati hemoragijski moždani udar u posebno ranjivoj podskupini bolesnika, osobito u žena i bolesnika s loše reguliranom arterijskom hipertenzijom. S obzirom na to da je hemoragijski moždani udar u usporedbi s ishemijskim moždanim udarom rijedak, zabrinutost zbog mogućega povećanog rizika za hemoragijski moždani udar ne smije zasjeniti dobrobit od primjene lijekova za snižavanje LDL-C-a i boljeg ishoda vaskularnih bolesti u bolesnika liječenih ovom terapijom. Nužno je utvrditi stratifikaciju različitih kategorija bolesnika s obzirom na rizične čimbenike, kao i s obzirom na spol i životnu dob, te primijeniti individualan pristup i personalizaciju liječenja, kako u primarnoj tako i u sekundarnoj prevenciji moždanog udara.
We assessed the visual evoked response and investigated side-to-side differences in mean blood flow velocities (MBFVs) by means of functional transcranial Doppler (fTCD) in 49 right-handed patients ...with severe internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis and 30 healthy volunteers, simultaneously in both posterior cerebral arteries (PCAs) using 2 MHz probes, successively in the dark and during the white light stimulation. Statistically significant correlation (P=0.001) was shown in healthy and in patients (P<0.05) between MBFV in right PCA in physiological conditions and MBFV in right PCA during the white light stimulation and in the dark. The correlation between MBVF in right PCA and contralateral left PCA was not statistically significant (P>0.05). The correlation between ipsilateral left PCA was significantly higher than the one with contralateral right PCA (P<0.05). There is a clear trend towards the lateralisation of the visual evoked response in the right PCA.
Summary
While the mean increase in flow velocities in posterior cerebral artery (PCA) as a response to visual stimuli is well documented, the data on the reaction time as a measurement of the ...vasomotor response of the posterior part of the circle of Willis are still sparse. The aim was to assess the visual evoked response in PCA during white light stimulation by means of functional transcranial doppler in patients with severe internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis, to introduce a real‐time haemodynamic changes as a measurement of the effect of severe carotid disease on the posterior circulation. The measurements were taken in 49 right‐handed patients with severe ICA stenosis or occlusion and 30 healthy volunteers, simultaneously in left and right PCA using 2‐MHz probes, successively in the dark and during the white light stimulation, during three consecutive repetitive periods of 1 min each. Mean values of mean blood flow velocities (MBFV) and mean reaction time (MRT) with and without visual stimuli were analysed. Linear regression analysis showed no statistically significant correlation between the age, MBFV and a degree of left and right carotid stenosis, and MRT in left and right PCA either in the group of healthy subjects or in the group of patients with severe carotid stenosis, in both test conditions. MRT could be an indicator of compromised cerebral circulation in the presence of haemodynamic significant carotid stenosis as well as an additional and independent haemodynamic parameter of the cerebral visual evoked response.
Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and neuroborreliosis may clinically manifest with symptoms related to acute polyradiculoneuritis. The aim and purpose of this study was analysis of clinical picture in ...patients with acute polyradiculoneuritis and their differential diagnosis into patients with GBS or meningoradiculoneuritis within the framework of neuroborreliosis. In this retrospective study, medical records of patients with acute polyradiculoneuritis hospitalized at University Department of Neurology, Sestre milosrdnice University Hospital Center during a 4-year period were analyzed. The study included data on 27 patients. Definitive diagnosis ofGBS was made in 23 patients and of neuroborreliosis in four (14.8%) patients. Acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy was recorded in 69% of GBS patients, Miller Fisher syndrome in four patients, and acute motor axonal neuropathy and/or acute motor and sensory axonal neuropathy in three patients. Clinically, patients with neuroborreliosis manifested flaccid tetraparesis, peripheral facial nerve paresis, bulbar paresis, ocular motility disorders, and sensory symptoms of radicular pain and paresthesias. Considering the relatively high prevalence of neuroborreliosis in north-west Croatia, it is important to exclude meningoradiculoneuritis caused by Borrelia burgdorferi on differential diagnosis of GBS in these patients.
PDF
