Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and acute ischaemic stroke are major causes of mortality and morbidity and there is an urgent demand for new neuroprotective strategies following the translational failure of neuroprotective drug trials. Oxygen therapy—especially normobaric, may offer a simple and effective therapeutic strategy which we review in this paper. Firstly we review mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of hyperoxia (both normobaric and hyperbaric) including mitochondrial rescue, stabilisation of intracranial pressure, attenuation of cortical spreading depression and inducing favourable endothelial-leukocyte interactions, all effects of which are postulated to decrease secondary injury. Next we survey studies using hyperbaric oxygen therapy for TBI and stroke, which formed the basis for early studies on normobaric hyperoxia. Thirdly, we present clinical studies of the efficacy of normobaric hyperoxia on TBI and stroke, emphasising their safety, efficacy and practicality. Finally we consider safety concerns and side effects, particularly pulmonary pathology, respiratory failure and theoretical risks in paediatric patients. A neuroprotective role of normobaric hyperoxia is extremely promising and further studies are warranted.

Despite decades of research and the growing emergence of new treatment modalities, Glioblastoma (GBM) frustratingly remains an incurable brain cancer with largely stagnant 5-year survival outcomes of around 5%. Historically, a significant challenge has been the effective delivery of anti-cancer treatment. This review aims to summarize key innovations in the field of medical devices, developed either to improve the delivery of existing treatments, for example that of chemo-radiotherapy, or provide novel treatments using devices, such as sonodynamic therapy, thermotherapy and electric field therapy. It will highlight current as well as emerging device technologies, non-invasive versus invasive approaches, and by doing so provide a detailed summary of evidence from clinical studies and trials undertaken to date. Potential limitations and current challenges are discussed whilst also highlighting the exciting potential of this developing field. It is hoped that this review will serve as a useful primer for clinicians, scientists, and engineers in the field, united by a shared goal to translate medical device innovations to help improve treatment outcomes for patients with this devastating disease.

This paper aims to review the current literature on vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) use in animal models of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and explore its potential role in treatment of human TBI. A MEDLINE search yielded four primary papers from the same group that demonstrated VNS mediated improvement following fluid percussion models of TBI in rats, seen as motor and cognitive improvements, reduction of cortical oedema and neuroprotective effects. The underlying mechanisms are elusive and authors attribute these to attenuation of post traumatic seizures, a noradrenergic mechanism and as yet undetermined mechanisms. Reviewing and elaborating on these ideas, we speculate other potential mechanisms including attenuation of peri-infarct depolarisations, attenuation of glutamate mediated excitotoxicity, stabilisation of intracranial pressure, enhancement of synaptic plasticity, upregulation of endogenous neurogenesis and anti-inflammatory effects may have a role. Although this data unequivocally shows that VNS improves outcome from TBI in animal models, it remains to be determined if these findings translate clinically. Further studies are warranted.

Lawsonella clevelandensis is a recently described species and genus of bacterium in the Corynebacterineae suborder which is Gram-stain positive, partially acid-fast and anaerobic. Very few cases of human infection due to this organism are described and here we seek to add to the limited medical literature. We report the case of a 2-year-old girl who presented with an infected spinal dermoid cyst secondary to Lawsonella clevelandensis which required surgical drainage and a long course of antibiotics. We encountered diagnostic and therapeutic difficulties because this is a fastidious organism which was difficult to culture and ultimately required molecular detection and identification. To the best of our knowledge, this is only the seventh reported case of Lawsonella clevelandensis causing human infection worldwide and the first in the UK. This is the first reported case of Lawsonella clevelandensis infection in a child and the second reported case of this organism causing spinal infection.