Cerebral Blood Flow

This volume covers the most important aspects of cerebral blood flow (CBF) from bench to bedside. It first defines the basic physiology of CBF, those qualities that make it unique or are shared with other organs and their clinical implications. There follows a section on CBF pathophysiology that explores many of the known and proposed mechanisms of cerebral ischemia in stroke and trauma states. The third section describes the numerous and powerful means available to measure blood flow, tissue function and overall perfusion. These are essential measures if one is to assess the effectiveness of therapies aimed at preventing or reversing cerebral ischemia. The final section describes the interesting and often successful recent clinical trials aimed at preventing or reversing cerebral ischemia. This collection of multicenter trial data and their implications in one volume is unique in this field. This book addresses all the major aspects of CBF from basic issues to clinical practice. TOC:History of cerebral blood flow (CBF) assessment. Neural regulation of the cerebral circulation. Role of endothelium in regulation of the brain microcirculation. Molecular genetics of cerebral aneurysm. Triggering events in ischemic brain injury. Ischemic mechanisms in traumatic brain injury. Coupling and compartmentation of CBF and metabolism. The genetic control of ischemic neuronal cell death. Cerebral resuscitation from temporary complete global brain ischemia. The ischemic penumbra. The assessment of determinants of cerebral oxygenation and microcirculation. CT angiography and perfusion imaging of acute stroke. The use of Xenon/CT CBF studies in acute stroke. Advances in imaging in ischemic stroke. Assessment of cerebrovascular pathophysiology. CBF measurement with PET. Thrombolysis for acute stroke. Neuroprotective stroke trials. Interventional neuroradiology in acute ischemic stroke: extracranial and intracranial angioplasty and stenting. Therapeutic moderate hypothermia.