The clock is ticking – Brain atrophy in case of acute trauma?

Abstract

Objective: Brain atrophy and brain herniation are gaining a lot of attention separately, but a limited amount of studies connected them together, and because of this, we are going to review and examine the subject in the current meta-analysis. Methods: The authors collected data reporting brain atrophy of alcoholic and schizophrenic cause, as well as data on control patients, all of which was published on MEDLINE between 1996 and 2018. The included 11 articles were processed with a statistical program. Results: We found that the pericerebral space is unequal among the groups, while the intracranial volume is strongly correlated to the biggest foramen of the body. The effect of this inequality, however, is expressed in emergency cases, where the patients with brain atrophy will have more time before the final stage of brain herniation. Conclusion: The current study raises a controversial issue that requires careful investigation and high attention from the health care personnel.