No abstract

It has been established that the adult mouse forebrain contains multipotential (neuronal/glial) progenitor cells that can be induced to proliferate in vitro when epidermal growth factor is provided. These cells are found within the subventricular zone of the lateral ventricles, together with other progenitor cell populations, whose requirements for proliferation remain undefined. Using basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), we have isolated multipotential progenitors from adult mouse striatum. These progenitors proliferate and can differentiate into cells displaying the antigenic properties of astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and neurons. The neuron-like cells possess neuronal features, exhibit neuronal electrophysiological properties, and are immunoreactive for GABA, substance P, choline acetyl-transferase, and glutamate. Clonal analysis confirmed the multipotency of these bFGF-dependent cells. Most significantly, subcloning experiments demonstrated that they were capable of self- renewal, which led to a progressive increase in population size over serial passaging. These results demonstrate that bFGF is mitogenic for multipotential cells from adult mammalian forebrain that possess stem cell properties.

No abstract

Traumatic intracranial aneurysms are rare, occurring in fewer than 1% of patients with cerebral aneurysms. They can occur following blunt or penetrating head trauma and are more common in the pediatric population. Traumatic aneurysms can be categorized histologically as true, false, or mixed, with false aneurysms being the most common. These aneurysms can present in a variety of ways, but are typically associated with an acute episode of delayed intracranial hemorrhage with an average time from initial trauma to aneurysm hemorrhage of approximately 21 days. The mortality rate for patients harboring these aneurysms may be as high as 50%. Prompt diagnosis based on arteriography and aggressive surgical management are associated with better outcome than conservative treatment. The authors describe a classification scheme for traumatic aneurysms based on their anatomical location and conclude that 1) post-traumatic aneurysm must be considered in patients with acute neurological deterioration following closed head injury; 2) they can occur following mild closed head injury; 3) they occur more commonly in children than in adults; and 4) surgical clipping and/or endovascular occlusion is the definitive treatment.