Introduction Paroxysmal sympathetic hyperactivity (PSH) is a dysautonomic syndrome characterized by paroxysmal and episodic increases in sympathetic and motor activity ( ). PSH occurs after severe acquired brain injury of diverse etiology, and core clinical features of PSH include tachycardia,…
Introduction Since the identification of the gas nitric oxide (NO) as the endothelial-derived relaxing factor, NO has increasingly been recognized as being involved in numerous physiological and pathophysiological processes, in particular those related to inflammation and blood flow. NO can…
Background Introduction Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of disability throughout the world ( ). An estimated 3.2–5.3 million Americans (1.1–1.7%) live with long-term mental and/or physical impairments as a result of TBIs ( ). Due to an…
Acknowledgments The work in this chapter was supported in part by grants to J. Marc Simard from the Department of Veterans Affairs (Baltimore, MD), the Department of the Army (W81XWH 1010898), the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (HL082517), and…
Introduction Statins are a widely used class of medications which are inhibitory analogs of the enzyme β-hydroxy-β-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG CoA) reductase. While very extensively used for treatment of hyperlipidemia and in the prevention of cardiovascular disease, their application to…
Acknowledgments This work was supported by Henry Jackson Foundation Award Number: 306135-7.01-60855 (USU Site No. G192JI), by the Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, and by the National Institutes of Health,…
Introduction The human body breathes in and out an average of 10–16 times per minute. The air we breathe contains 21% oxygen, 78% nitrogen, and 1% carbon dioxide and other gases. For an average adult body, the volume of each…
Introduction Therapeutic hypothermia—the intentional lowering of temperature in an attempt to mitigate injurious processes—has undergone several life cycles in medical practice. Interest in hypothermia may have first been introduced into medical practice from reports centuries ago suggesting that injured soldiers…
Acknowledgments With thanks to Leslie McCann for her unflagging patience in the editing of the manuscript. And with great appreciation for all of those laboratory scientists who have dedicated so much effort to finding a safe and effective treatment for…