MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'brain death'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:31:44 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2908758&cid=t_166761_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2FZhCpv_R2pB8%2F Encephalon (brain & mind blog carnival, edition ) finally meets Grand Rounds (health & medicine blog carnival). What a nice surprise. Hello. Nice to meet you! — Note: Chronic Babe wins a complimentary copy of The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness for basically inventing cognitive sleep therapy. Congrats! — Life and Death MindHacks discusses an unexpected surge in brain activity when blood pressure drops to zero. In Sickness & In Health suffers a death in the family. Adam shem tov. A man of good name. BrainBlogger wonders, is religion a “natural” phenomenon? Mind and Empathy Behaviorism & Mental Health finds that everyone can have a mental illness – take a look at “Adjustment Disorder“. ACP Internist reinforces the importance of emp... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2908758 Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:01:20 +0100 2908758 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2904853&cid=t_166761_87_f&fid=35052&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FWomensBioethicsBlog%2F%7E3%2FScTRP4YQYtw%2Fwhen-does-life-begin-and-end-debate.html Frederick Grinnell of Oxford University press in his blog post, Redefining Death — Again responds to the recent Nature editorial, “Delimiting death.” Grinnell’s post contributes to the ongoing public policy debate regarding the relationship between biological and spiritual life. In addition to this post, there are several other articles that are of significance: Dr. James Bernat, neurologist at Dartmouth, wrote an article entitled Chronic Consciousness Disorders, Annu. Rev. Med. 2009. 60:381–92. The article notes that new functional neuroimaging techniques using PET and fMRI provide a new and complementary way to assess consciousness; that fMRI technologies are showing that 'persistent vegetative state' is not always clear cut -- that there is more of a continuum and that some 'P... Women's Bioethics Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2904853 Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:24:16 +0100 2904853 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2313765&cid=t_166761_111_f&fid=36048&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAHeartyLife%2F%7E3%2Fx5zJki_4cpU%2F Times have changed in how patients who are potential donors are considered to be dead and therefore able to be organ donors. It used to be that you had to be brain dead, with no signs of brain activity, cardiac - heart - death wasn’t in the equation. This has changed an now those who are heart dead can be organ donors but the teams have to move fast for the organs to be viable. I came across this story this morning of two families, two infants, and two sad stories. In a nutshell, one baby can’t live. She goes into cardiac arrest when she sleeps and needs to be brought back to life each time. Because of this, 2-month-old Kaylee Wallace lives on a respirator in the province of Ontario. Many miles away, is another infant, 1-month-old Lily O’Connor who desperately needs a hea... A Hearty Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2313765 Wed, 08 Apr 2009 09:46:53 +0100 2313765 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2284447&cid=t_166761_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F03%2Firresponsibility-in-reporting-of.html I have been very unhappy about the lurid headlines in the New York Post and elsewhere about the gravely injured Natasha Richardson being "brain dead." That is not only insensitive to her devastated family, but the term is thrown around all too loosely.Brain death is a popular term for "death by neurological criteria," in which various tests and patient history show that the brain and each of its constituent parts have ceased all functions as a brain. (It does not mean that every brain cell is nonfunctional.) It often gets conflated with a diagnoses of permanent unconsciousness--but is not the same as having a catastrophic brain injury. It is dead.More responsible press reports have described Richardson as being in very critical condition or having suffered a devastating brain injury. No do... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2284447 Wed, 18 Mar 2009 15:32:00 +0100 2284447 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1968643&cid=t_166761_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F11%2Fbrain-dead-boy-dies.html The case of M.B., the 12-year-old boy whose Orthodox Jewish parents sought to have his life support continued after he was declared dead by neurological criteria, is over. From the story: The boy had already been declared brain dead, but some adherents of Jewish religious law say death occurs only when the heart and lungs stop functioning. The family had asked a judge to prevent further tests for brain activity. The hospital argued that its "scarce resources" were being used "for the preservation of a deceased body."For the parents and those who do not accept "brain death" it means MB has actually died. For those who accept the concept, it means his body could no longer be kept functioning--which almost (but not) always happens with the bodies of those declared dead by neurological criteri... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1968643 Mon, 17 Nov 2008 23:41:00 +0100 1968643 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1709161&cid=t_166761_87_f&fid=34935&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmedicine.com.my%2Fwp%2F%3Fp%3D4103 For decades, organs have typically been removed only after doctors determine that a donor’s brain has completely stopped working. Some argue the definition of death is flawed. read more | digg story a Doctors debate when to declare organ donors dead (Source: Malaysian Medical Resources) Malaysian Medical Resources blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1709161 Thu, 14 Aug 2008 04:00:00 +0100 1709161 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1535671&cid=t_166761_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F06%2Fbrain-dead-may-not-really-be-dead.html The controversy over whether brain dead is really dead may have just heated up with a peer reviewed article in Spinal Cord ((2008) 46, 396-40. (I don't have a link but I have PDF. If anyone wants it, e-mail me off list and it will be on its way.)The author, a Greek physician named KG Karakatsanis, concludes that declaration of death by neurological criteria is not reliable and may not be dead. The authors' philosophical reaction with regard to organ donation is worrisome because, it seems to me, it would destroy the dead donor rule that requires vital non-paired organs to only be procured from dead bodies. Karakatsanis writes:We consider that the interest of the organ transplantation program would be better served by 'openness and honesty'. The harvesting of vital organs for transplantatio... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1535671 Fri, 20 Jun 2008 21:00:00 +0100 1535671 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1323099&cid=t_166761_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F03%2Fmiracle-or-mistake.html Zack Dunlap was apparently killed in an auto accident and his organs were going to be procured, when he "came back." From the story:Natalie Morales: What did the doctors tell you at that point?Pam Dunlap: She just said it wasn't good.Doug Dunlap: She said brain matter was coming from Zack’s ear.Pam Dunlap: All I can remember is just being down on my knees saying, you know, "No. No, God, no. This isn't going to happen." Zack was Medivac’ed to a hospital 50 miles away, in Wichita Falls, Texas--one equipped to deal with traumatic brain injury...Natalie Morales: Were the doctors giving you any sense of hope?Doug Dunlap: They were already saying he was brain-dead. (Looking at brain scan)Natalie Morales: So, when you see this, I mean, he was in a permanent vegetative state?Dr. Mercer: No, he... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1323099 Mon, 24 Mar 2008 18:36:00 +0100 1323099 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1184627&cid=t_166761_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F01%2Fneed-for-uniform-criteria-to-declare.html I have written several posts about the need to develop uniform standards of declaring death by neurological criteria--popularly known as "brain death." Now, there's some more information out about that problem. From the story:Guidelines for determining brain death differ substantially between major U.S. hospitals, a national survey shows, and few stick to parameters established by the American Academy of Neurology."There are substantial differences in practice that may have consequences for the determination of death and initiation of transplant procedures," Dr. David M. Greer, at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and colleagues report in the medical journal Neurology.Greer's team requested guidelines from hospitals named as having the top 50 neurology programs in the nation in 200... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1184627 Tue, 29 Jan 2008 01:31:00 +0100 1184627