Description
This monograph constitutes a comprehensive overview of blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability changes and related damaging sequelae associated with subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH). Despite improvements in the surgical and clinical management, patients still experience an unacceptably high morbidity and mortality linked to the presence of subarachnoid blood. In this monograph, the authors have reviewed the historical basis of this problem, the anatomical substrates of the BBB, the occurrence and adverse consequences of barrier disruption following SAH, the related sequelae of oedema formation, ICP alteration and vasospasm discussed from both the basic science and clinical perspective, with the consideration of multiple clinical and laboratory investigative tools, including all aspects of modern imaging. The text is supplemented by presenting key research publications in the field, focusing on the damaging consequences of subarachnoid blood, while attempting to explain the hierarchy of events in those progressive changes associated with BBB perturbation, including vasospasm, ischaemia and elevated intracranial pressure.
