The relationship between intracranial pressure and neurocognitive function before and after the repair of a skull injury.

OBJECTIVE: This study examines the relationship between intracranial pressure (ICP) changes after skull injury repair and neurocognitive function before and after the repair. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Sixty patients undergoing skull injury repair participated in the study. A non-invasive detection analyzer was used to detect the ICP 2 days before operation, 10 days after the operation and one month after the operation in all patients. Additionally, the mean cerebral blood flow velocities (MV) in the internal carotid and the medial cerebral arteries were detected using a transcranial Doppler ultrasound (TCD). The neurological and cognitive functions were assessed using the NIHSS and the MMSE scales, respectively. And finally, an ELISA assay was used to detect the plasma insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 and beta-amyloid peptide (Ab) levels. RESULTS: The results showed that all parameters studied improved significantly and continuously after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that the improvement in the ICP values and the neurocognitive functions are related to the resulting decreased expression levels of IGF-1 and Abeta after the repair.