Thirty-five patients undergoing cardiac surgery requiring cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) were allocated randomly in a prospective double-blind study to receive either nimodipine 0.5 micrograms kg-1 min-1 or placebo. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) was measured during and immediately after CPB. Neuropsychological tests were performed 6 months after surgery to determine any relationship between ischaemic damage and CBF and administration of nimodipine. There were no differences in CBF between the nimodipine (n = 18) and placebo groups (n = 17). Significant changes in neuropsychological tests were found in six patients tested 6 months after surgery but there were no conclusive signs of ischaemic damage. The nimodipine-treated group performed better in tests of verbal fluency and visual retention, suggesting that some memory functions were preserved better in this group.

Thirty-four patients with persistent symptoms following whiplash injury and 21 controls with somatic complaints resembling those of the whiplash patients, but with no history of trauma, were studied. Forty-eight neuropsychological test variables were analyzed. The results indicated that whiplash patients with chronic symptoms are not much impaired in their performance as compared with controls. The differences found were not sufficiently strong to be taken as consistent evidence of brain damage occurring as a sequela of whiplash injury.