Dinosaur feather evolution trapped in Canadian amber

Samples of amber in western Canada containing feathers from dinosaurs and birds have yielded the most complete story of feather evolution ever seen.

Eleven fragments show the progression from hair-like "filaments" to doubly-branched feathers of modern birds.

The analysis of the 80-million-year-old amber deposits is presented in Science.

The find, along with an accompanying article analysing feather pigment, adds to the idea that many dinosaurs sported feathers - some brightly coloured.

Recent years have seen a proliferation of reports about the beginnings of feathers as we know them now in birds.

So-called compression fossils found in China bear outlines of primitive "filament" feathers that are more akin to hair.

But modern feathers are highly branched and structured, and the full story of how those came to be had not yet been revealed by the fossil record.

Now a study of amber found near Grassy Lake in Alberta - dated from what is known as the Late Cretaceous period - has unearthed a full range of feather structures that demonstrate the progression.

"We're finding two ends of the evolutionary development that had been proposed for feathers trapped in the same amber deposit," said Ryan McKellar of the University of Alberta, lead author of the report.

The team's find confirms that the filaments progressed to tufts of filaments from a single origin, called barbs. In later development, some of these barbs can coalesce into a central branch called a rachis. As the structure develops further, further branches of filments form from the rachis.

"We've got feathers that look to be little filamentous hair-like feathers, we've got the same filaments bound together in clumps, and then we've got a series that are for all intents and purposes identical to modern feathers," Mr McKellar told BBC News.

"We're catching some that look to be dinosaur feathers and another set that are pretty much dead ringers for modern birds."

Lucky find

By the Late Cretaceous, feathers had more or less reached the end of their evolution, and it is simply lucky that specimens bearing the full range of different feather types happened to be captured in the same amber deposit.

"We've known for quite a while that several of the non-bird dinosaurs actually had feathers and many of them had feathers that are identical to the feathers you see on a pigeon in the park today," said Mark Norell, chairman of the palaeontology division at the American Museum of Natural History.

"What's interesting is the diversity of feathers that were present in [these] non-avian dinosaurs that existed pretty close to that time interval when those animals disappeared around 65 million years ago," he told the BBC.

The most developed of the feathers seem to be similar to water-dwelling and diving birds - almost like down. However, Mr McKellar said that none of the feathers was adapted for flight, but rather for an ever-more complex ornamentation strategy.

Like the modern grebe's feather here, the latest feathers show adaptations for swimming

A second article in Science examines another aspect of the ornamentation: colour.

Feathers are given their colour by structures in their cells called melanosomes, which contain melanin, the same chemical that gives us our skin colour. Study of remnants of these melanosomes has already yielded evidence for example that one of the first feathered dinosaurs ever discovered, theSinosauropteryx, was a "redhead".

But most often, the melanosomes of feathers or the melanin they leave behind are destroyed with time, leaving few clues as to what colour a given dinosaur would have been.

Now Roy Wogelius of the University of Manchester in the UK has shown a method using high-energy rays of light from a synchrotron that can spot tiny amounts of metal atoms left behind by eumelanin, one of the types of melanin responsible for a range of black and brown colours.

"A perfect understanding of colour is unlikely except in perhaps exceptional cases," Dr Wogelius said in an online chat about the work in July.

"But, with the technological advances we are optimistic that we will be able to find chemical details beyond simply dark and light patterning."

In fact, a picture is emerging that many dinosaurs were not the dull-coloured, reptilian-skinned creatures that they were once thought to be.

"If you were to transport yourself back 80 million years to western North America and walk around the forest... so many of the animals would have been feathered," said Dr Norell.

"We're getting more and more evidence... that these animals were also brightly coloured, just like birds are today."

bbc.com

Big drop in children under five dying, says UN report

The number of children under five who die each year has plummeted from 12 million in 1990, to 7.6 million last year, the UN says.

The reasons for the change include better access to health care and immunisation, says a report by Unicef and the World Health Organization.

But they warn that more needs to be done to reach UN development goals on reducing child mortality.

About 21,000 children are still dying every day from preventable causes.

But even the poorest regions have made progress. Child mortality in sub-Saharan Africa is declining twice as fast as it was a decade ago.

"Focusing greater investment on the most disadvantaged communities will help us save more lives, more quickly and more cost effectively," said Anthony Lake, the executive director of Unicef.

Many factors are contributing to reductions in child mortality, including better healthcare for newborns, prevention and treatment of childhood diseases, clean water and better nutrition.

Most improved

Sierra Leone in West Africa - one of the world's poorest nations - ranks among the top five countries seeing improvements in child mortality in the past decade. The others were Niger, Malawi and Liberia - also in Africa - and East Timor in South East Asia.

One of the reasons for Sierra Leone's success is that the government scrapped all fees for child and maternal health, said Ian Pett, the chief of health systems at Unicef.

About half of all deaths among under fives in the world took place in just five countries in 2010 - India, China, Pakistan, Nigeria and Democratic Republic of Congo.

Babies are particularly vulnerable. According to the report, more than 40% of deaths in children under the age of five occur within the first month of life and more than 70% in the first year of life.

In sub-Saharan Africa, one in eight children die before reaching the age of five. That compares with one in 143 children dying before five years old in developed countries.

bbc.com

Subarachnoid hemorrhage

A subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH,  /ˌsʌbəˈræknɔɪd ˈhɛmᵊrɪdʒ/), or subarachnoid haemorrhage in British English, is bleeding into thesubarachnoid space—the area between the arachnoid membrane and the pia mater surrounding the brain. This may occur spontaneously, usually from a ruptured cerebral aneurysm, or may result from head injury.

Symptoms of SAH include a severe headache with a rapid onset ("thunderclap headache"), vomiting, confusion or a lowered level of consciousness, and sometimes seizures.^[1] The diagnosis is generally confirmed with a CT scan of the head, or occasionally by lumbar puncture. Treatment is by promptneurosurgery or radiologically guided interventions with medications and other treatments to help prevent recurrence of the bleeding and complications. Surgery for aneurysms was introduced in the 1930s, but since the 1990s many aneurysms are treated by a less invasive procedure called "coiling", which is carried out by instrumentation through large blood vessels.^[1]

SAH is a form of stroke and comprises 1–7% of all strokes.^[2] It is a medical emergency and can lead to death or severe disability—even when recognized and treated at an early stage. Up to half of all cases of SAH are fatal and 10–15% of casualties die before reaching a hospital,^[1] and those who survive often have neurological or cognitive impairment.^[3]

The classic symptom of subarachnoid hemorrhage is thunderclap headache (a headache described as "like being kicked in the head",^[4] or the "worst ever", developing over seconds to minutes). This headache often pulsates towards the occiput (the back of the head).^[5] About one-third of sufferers have no symptoms apart from the characteristic headache, and about one in ten people who seekmedical care with this symptom are later diagnosed with a subarachnoid hemorrhage.^[1] Vomiting may be present, and 1 in 14 have seizures.^[1] Confusion, decreased level of consciousness or comamay be present, as may neck stiffness and other signs of meningism.^[1] Neck stiffness usually presents six hours after initial onset of SAH.^[6] Isolated dilation of a pupil and loss of the pupillary light reflex may reflect brain herniation as a result of rising intracranial pressure (pressure inside the skull).^[1] Intraocular hemorrhage (bleeding into the eyeball) may occur in response to the raised pressure: subhyaloid hemorrhage (bleeding under the hyaloid membrane, which envelops the vitreous body of the eye) and vitreous hemorrhage may be visible on fundoscopy. This is known as Terson syndrome(occurring in 3–13% of cases) and is more common in more severe SAH.^[7]Signs and symptoms

Oculomotor nerve abnormalities (affected eye looking downward and outward and inability to lift the eyelid on the same side) or palsy (loss of feeling) may indicate bleeding from the posterior communicating artery.^[1][5] Seizures are more common if the hemorrhage is from an aneurysm; it is otherwise difficult to predict the site and origin of the hemorrhage from the symptoms.^[1] SAH in a person known to have seizures is often diagnostic of an arteriovenous malformation.^[5]

The combination of intracerebral hemorrhage and raised intracranial pressure (if present) leads to a "sympathetic surge", i.e. over-activation of the sympathetic system. This is thought to occur through two mechanisms, a direct effect on the medulla which leads to activation of the descending sympathetic nervous system and a local release of inflammatory mediators which circulate to the peripheral circulation where they activate the sympathetic system. As a consequence of the sympathetic surge there is an sudden increase in blood pressure; mediated by increased contractility of the ventricleand increased vasoconstriction leading to increased systemic vascular resistance. The consequences of this sympathetic surge can be sudden, severe, and are frequently life threatening. The highplasma concentrations of adrenaline also may cause cardiac arrhythmias (irregularities in the heart rate and rhythm), electrocardiographic changes (in 27% of cases)^[8] and cardiac arrest (in 3% of cases) may occur rapidly after the onset of hemorrhage.^[1][9]. A further consequence of this process is neurogenic pulmonary edema^[10] where a process of increased pressure within the pulmonary circulation causes leaking of fluid from the pulmonary capillaries into the air spaces, the alveoli, of the lung.

Subarachnoid hemorrhage may also occur in people who have suffered a head injury. Symptoms may include headache, decreased level of consciousness and hemiparesis (weakness of one side of the body). SAH is a frequent occurrence in traumatic brain injury, and carries a poor prognosis if it is associated with deterioration in the level of consciousness.^[11]

Causes

In 85% of cases of spontaneous SAH, the cause is rupture of a cerebral aneurysm—a weakness in the wall of one of the arteries in the brain that becomes enlarged. They tend to be located in thecircle of Willis and its branches. While most cases of SAH are due to bleeding from small aneurysms, larger aneurysms (which are less common) are more likely to rupture.^[1]

In 15–20% of cases of spontaneous SAH, no aneurysm is detected on the first angiogram.^[12] About half of these are attributed to non-aneurysmal perimesencephalic hemorrhage, in which the blood is limited to the subarachnoid spaces around the midbrain (i.e. mesencephalon). In these, the origin of the blood is uncertain.^[1] The remainder are due to other disorders affecting the blood vessels (such as arteriovenous malformations), disorders of the blood vessels in the spinal cord, and bleeding into various tumors.^[1] Cocaine abuse and sickle cell anemia (usually in children) and, rarely,anticoagulant therapy, problems with blood clotting and pituitary apoplexy can also result in SAH.^[6][12]

Subarachnoid blood can be detected on CT scanning in as many as 60% of people with traumatic brain injury.^[13] Traumatic SAH (tSAH) usually occurs near the site of a skull fracture or intracerebral contusion.^[12] It usually happens in the setting of other forms of traumatic brain injury and has been linked with a poorer prognosis. It is unclear, however, if this is a direct result of the SAH or whether the presence of subarachnoid blood is simply an indicator of severity of the head injury and the prognosis is determined by other associated mechanisms.^[13]

Diagnosis

A lumbar puncture in progress. A large area on the back has been washed with aniodine-based disinfectant leaving brown coloration

Imaging

The initial steps for evaluating a person with a suspected subarachnoid hemorrhage are obtaining a medical history and performing a physical examination; these are aimed at determining whether the symptoms are due to SAH or to another cause. The diagnosis cannot, however, be made on clinical grounds alone; therefore medical imaging is generally required to confirm or exclude bleeding. The modality of choice is computed tomography (CT scan) of the brain. This has a high sensitivity and will correctly identify over 95% of cases—especially on the first day after the onset of bleeding. Magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) may be more sensitive than CT after several days.^[1] Within six hours of the onset of symptoms a single study has reported that CT is 100% sensitive.^[14]

Lumbar puncture

Lumbar puncture, in which cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is removed with a needle from the lumbar sac, will show evidence of hemorrhage in 3% of people in whom CT was found normal; lumbar puncture is therefore regarded as mandatory in people with suspected SAH if imaging is negative.^[1] At least three tubes of CSF are collected.^[6] If an elevated number of red blood cells is present equally in all bottles, this indicates a subarachnoid hemorrhage. If the number of cells decreases per bottle, it is more likely that it is due to damage to a small blood vessel during the procedure (known as a "traumatic tap").^[3] While there is no official cutoff for red blood cells in the CSF no documented cases have occurred at less than "a few hundred cells" per high-powered field.^[15]

The CSF sample is also examined for xanthochromia—the yellow appearance of centrifugated fluid. More sensitive is spectrophotometry (measuring the absorption of particular wavelengths of light) for detection of bilirubin, a breakdown product of hemoglobin from red blood cells.^[1][16] Xanthochromia and spectrophotometry remain reliable ways to detect SAH several days after the onset of headache.^[16] An interval of at least 12 hours between the onset of the headache and lumbar puncture is required, as it takes several hours for the hemoglobin from the red blood cells to be metabolized into bilirubin.^[1][16]

As only 10% of people admitted to the emergency department with a thunderclap headache are suffering from an SAH, other possible causes are usually considered simultaneously, such asmeningitis, migraine, and cerebral venous sinus thrombosis.^[4] Intracerebral hemorrhage, in which bleeding occurs within the brain itself, is twice as common as SAH and is often misdiagnosed as the latter.^[17] It is not unusual for SAH to be initially misdiagnosed as a migraine or tension headache, which can lead to a delay in obtaining a CT scan. In a 2004 study, this occurred in 12% of all cases and was more likely in people who had smaller hemorrhages and no impairment in their mental status. The delay in diagnosis led to a worse outcome.^[18] In some people, the headache resolves by itself, and no other symptoms are present. This type of headache is referred to as "sentinel headache", because it is presumed to result from a small leak (a "warning leak") from an aneurysm. A sentinel headache still warrants investigations with CT scan and lumbar puncture, as further bleeding may occur in the subsequent three weeks.^[3]

Angiography

After a subarachnoid hemorrhage is confirmed, its origin needs to be determined. If the bleeding is likely to have originated from an aneurysm (as determined by the CT scan appearance), the choice is between cerebral angiography (injecting radiocontrast through a catheter to the brain arteries) and CT angiography (visualizing blood vessels with radiocontrast on a CT scan) to identify aneurysms. Catheter angiography also offers the possibility of coiling an aneurysm (see below).^[1][3]

ECG

ECG changes resembling those of an STEMI in a woman who had an acute CNS injury from a subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Electrocardiographic changes are relatively common in subarachnoid hemorrhage, occurring in 40–70% of cases. They may include QT prolongation, Q waves, cardiac dysrhythmias and ST elevation that mimics a heart attack.^[19]

[edit]Classification

There are several grading scales available for SAH. The Glasgow Coma Scale is ubiquitously used for assessing consciousness. Three specialized scores are used to evaluate SAH; in each, a higher number is associated with a worse outcome.^[20] These scales have been derived by retrospectively matching characteristics of patients with their outcomes.

The first scale of severity was described by Hunt and Hess in 1968:^[21]

Grade	Signs and symptoms	Survival
1	Asymptomatic or minimal headache and slight neck stiffness	70%
2	Moderate to severe headache; neck stiffness; no neurologic deficit except cranial nerve palsy	60%
3	Drowsy; minimal neurologic deficit	50%
4	Stuporous; moderate to severe hemiparesis; possibly early decerebrate rigidity and vegetative disturbances	20%
5	Deep coma; decerebrate rigidity; moribund	10%

The Fisher Grade classifies the appearance of subarachnoid hemorrhage on CT scan.^[22] This scale has been modified by Claassen and coworkers, reflecting the additive risk from SAH size and accompanying intraventricular hemorrhage.^[23]

Grade	Appearance of hemorrhage
1	None evident
2	Less than 1 mm thick
3	More than 1 mm thick
4	Any thickness with intraventricular hemorrhage or parenchymal extension

The World Federation of Neurosurgeons (WFNS) classification uses Glasgow coma score (GCS) and focal neurological deficit to gauge severity of symptoms.^[24]

Grade	GCS	Focal neurological deficit
1	15	Absent
2	13–14	Absent
3	13–14	Present
4	7–12	Present or absent
5	<7	Present or absent

A comprehensive classification scheme has been suggested by Ogilvy and Carter to predict outcome and gauge therapy.^[25] The system consists of five grades and it assigns one point for the presence or absence of each of five factors: age greater than 50; Hunt and Hess grade 4 or 5; Fisher scale 3 or 4; aneurysm size greater than 10 mm; and posterior circulation aneurysm 25 mm or more.^[25]

Screening and prevention

The arteries of the brain, viewed from underneath. Image originally from Gray's Anatomy, 1918.

Screening for aneurysms is not performed on a population level; because they are relatively rare, it would not be cost-effective. If someone has two or more first-degree relatives who have suffered an aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage, screening may be worthwhile.^[1][26]

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), a hereditary kidney condition, is known to be associated with cerebral aneurysms in 8% of cases, but most such aneurysms are small and therefore unlikely to rupture. As a result, screening is only recommended in families with ADPKD where one family member has suffered a ruptured aneurysm.^[27]

An aneurysm may be detected incidentally on brain imaging; this presents a conundrum, as all treatments for cerebral aneurysms are associated with potential complications. The International Study of Unruptured Intracranial Aneurysms (ISUIA) provided prognostic data both in people who had previously suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage and people who had aneurysms detected by other means. Those who had previously suffered SAH were more likely to bleed from other aneurysms. In contrast, those who had never bled and had small aneurysms (smaller than 10 mm) were very unlikely to suffer SAH and were likely to sustain harm from attempts to repair these aneurysms.^[28] On the basis of the ISUIA and other studies, it is now recommended that people are only considered for preventative treatment if they have a reasonable life expectancy and have aneurysms that are highly likely to rupture.^[26] At the same time, there is only limited evidence that endovascular treatment of unruptured aneurysms is actually beneficial.^[29]

Treatment

Arteriogram showing a partially coiled aneurysm (indicated by yellow arrows) of the posterior cerebral artery with a residual aneurysmal sac. The patient was a 34-year-old woman initially treated for a subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Management involves general measures to stabilize the patient while also using specific investigations and treatments. These include the prevention of rebleeding by obliterating the bleeding source, prevention of a phenomenon known as vasospasm, and prevention and treatment of complications.^[1]

General measures

Stabilizing the patient is the first priority. Those with a depressed level of consciousness may need to be intubated and mechanically ventilated. Blood pressure, pulse, respiratory rate and Glasgow Coma Scale are monitored frequently. Once the diagnosis is confirmed, admission to an intensive care unitmay be preferable, especially since 15% may have further bleeding soon after admission. Nutrition is an early priority, with oral or nasogastric tube feeding being preferable over parenteral routes. Analgesia (pain control) is generally restricted to less sedating agents such as codeine, as sedation may impact on the mental status and thus interfere with the ability to monitor the level of consciousness. Deep vein thrombosis is prevented with compression stockings, intermittent pneumatic compression of the calves or both.^[1] A bladder catheter is usually inserted to monitor fluid balance. Benzodiazepines may be administered to help relieve distress.^[6] Antiemetic drugs should be given to awake persons.^[5]

Prevention of rebleeding

People whose CT scan shows a large hematoma, depressed level of consciousness or focal neurologic symptoms may benefit from urgent surgical removal of the blood or occlusion of the bleeding site. The remainder are stabilized more extensively and undergo a transfemoral angiogram or CT angiogram later. It is hard to predict who will suffer a rebleed, yet it may happen at any time and carries a dismal prognosis. After the first 24 hours have passed, rebleeding risk remains around 40% over the subsequent four weeks, suggesting that interventions should be aimed at reducing this risk as soon as possible.^[1]

If a cerebral aneurysm is identified on angiography, two measures are available to reduce the risk of further bleeding from the same aneurysm: clipping^[30] and coiling.^[31] Clipping requires a craniotomy(opening of the skull) to locate the aneurysm, followed by the placement of clips around the neck of the aneurysm. Coiling is performed through the large blood vessels (endovascularly): a catheter is inserted into the femoral artery in the groin and advanced through the aorta to the arteries (both carotid arteries and both vertebral arteries) that supply the brain. When the aneurysm has been located,platinum coils are deployed that cause a blood clot to form in the aneurysm, obliterating it. The decision as to which treatment is undertaken is typically made by a multidisciplinary team consisting of a neurosurgeon, neuroradiologist and often other health professionals.^[1]

Generally, the decision between clipping and coiling is made on the basis of the location of the aneurysm, its size and the condition of the patient. Aneurysms of the middle cerebral artery and its related vessels are hard to reach with angiography and tend to be amenable to clipping. Those of the basilar artery and posterior cerebral artery are hard to reach surgically and are more accessible for endovascular management.^[32] These approaches are based on general experience, and the only randomized controlled trial directly comparing the different modalities was performed in relatively well patients with small (less than 10 mm) aneurysms of the anterior cerebral artery and anterior communicating artery (together the "anterior circulation"), who constitute about 20% of all patients with aneurysmal SAH.^[32][33] This trial, the International Subarachnoid Aneurysm Trial (ISAT), showed that in this group the likelihood of death or being dependent on others for activities of daily living was reduced (7.4% absolute risk reduction, 23.5% relative risk reduction) if endovascular coiling was used as opposed to surgery.^[32] The main drawback of coiling is the possibility that the aneurysm will recur; this risk is extremely small in the surgical approach. In ISAT, 8.3% needed further treatment in the longer term. Hence, people who have undergone coiling are typically followed up for many years afterwards with angiography or other measures to ensure recurrence of aneurysms is identified early.^[34] Other trials have also found a higher rate of recurrence necessitating further treatments.^[35][36]

Vasospasm

Vasospasm, in which the blood vessels constrict and thus restrict blood flow, is a serious complication of SAH. It can cause ischemic brain injury (referred to as "delayed ischemia") and permanentbrain damage due to lack of oxygen in parts of the brain. It can be fatal if severe. Delayed ischemia is characterized by new neurological symptoms, and can be confirmed by transcranial doppler or cerebral angiography. About one third of all people admitted with subarachnoid hemorrhage will have delayed ischemia, and half of those suffer permanent damage as a result.^[37] It is possible to screen for the development of vasospasm with transcranial doppler every 24–48 hours. A blood flow velocity of more than 120 centimeters per second is suggestive of vasospasm.^[3]

The use of calcium channel blockers, thought to be able to prevent the spasm of blood vessels by preventing calcium from entering smooth muscle cells, has been proposed for the prevention of vasospasm.^[13] The oral calcium channel blocker nimodipine improves outcome if administered between the fourth and twenty-first day after the hemorrhage, even if it does not significantly reduce the amount of vasospasm detected on angiography.^[38] In traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage, nimodipine does not affect long-term outcome, and is not recommended.^[39] Other calcium channel blockers and magnesium sulfate have been studied, but are not presently recommended; neither is there any evidence that shows benefit if nimodipine is given intravenously.^[37]

Some older studies have suggested that statin therapy might reduce vasospasm, but a subsequent meta-analysis including three further trials did not demonstrate evidence for benefit of statin use on either vasospasm or clinical outcomes.^[40]

A protocol referred to as "triple H" is often used as a measure to treat vasospasm when it causes symptoms; this is the use of intravenous fluids to achieve a state of hypertension (high blood pressure), hypervolemia (excess fluid in the circulation) and hemodilution (mild dilution of the blood).^[41] Evidence for this approach is inconclusive; no randomized controlled trials have been undertaken to demonstrate its benefits.^[42]

If the symptoms of delayed ischemia do not improve with medical treatment, angiography may be attempted to identify the sites of vasospasms and administer vasodilator medication (drugs that relax the blood vessel wall) directly into the artery. Angioplasty (opening the constricted area with a balloon) may also be performed.^[3]

Other complications

Hydrocephalus (obstruction of the flow of cerebrospinal fluid) may complicate SAH in both the short and long term. It is detected on CT scanning, on which there is enlargement of the lateral ventricles. If the level of consciousness is decreased, drainage of the excess fluid is performed by therapeutic lumbar puncture, extraventricular drain (a temporary device inserted into the one of the ventricles) or occasionally a permanent shunt.^[1][3] Relief of hydrocephalus can lead to an enormous improvement in a person's condition.^[5] Fluctuations in blood pressure and electrolyte disturbances, as well aspneumonia and cardiac decompensation occur in about half the hospitalized persons with SAH and may worsen prognosis.^[1] Seizures occur during the hospital stay in about a third of cases.^[3] Many believe that patients might benefit from prevention with antiepileptic drugs.^[3] Although this is widely practiced,^[43] it is controversial and not based on good evidence.^[44][45] In some studies, use of these drugs was associated with a worse prognosis; this might be because they actually cause harm, or because they are used more often in persons with a poorer prognosis.^[46][47] There is a possibility of a gastric hemorrhage due to stress ulcers.^[48]

Prognosis

Early morbidity and mortality

SAH is often associated with a poor outcome.^[2] The death rate (mortality) for SAH is between 40 and 50%,^[17] but trends for survival are improving.^[1] Of those who survive hospitalization, more than a quarter have significant restrictions in their lifestyle, and less than a fifth have no residual symptoms whatsoever.^[32] Delay in diagnosis of minor SAH (mistaking the sudden headache for migraine) contributes to poor outcome.^[18] Factors found on admission that are associated with poorer outcome include poorer neurological grade; systolic hypertension; a previous diagnosis of heart attack or SAH; liver disease; more blood and larger aneurysm on the initial CT scan; location of an aneurysm in the posterior circulation; and higher age.^[46] Factors that carry a worse prognosis during the hospital stay include occurrence of delayed ischemia resulting from vasospasm, development of intracerebral hematoma or intraventricular hemorrhage (bleeding into the ventricles of the brain) and presence of fever on the eighth day of admission.^[46]

So-called "angiogram-negative subarachnoid hemorrhage", SAH that does not show an aneurysm with four-vessel angiography, carries a better prognosis than SAH with aneurysm; however, it is still associated with a risk of ischemia, rebleeding and hydrocephalus.^[12] Perimesencephalic SAH (bleeding around the mesencephalon in the brain), however, has a very low rate of rebleeding or delayed ischemia, and the prognosis of this subtype is excellent.^[49]

The prognosis of head trauma is thought to be influenced in part by the location and amount of subarachnoid bleeding.^[13] It is difficult to isolate the effects of SAH from those of other aspects of traumatic brain injury; it is unknown whether the presence of subarachnoid blood actually worsens the prognosis or whether it is merely a sign that a significant trauma has occurred.^[13] People with moderate and severe traumatic brain injury who have SAH when admitted to a hospital have as much as twice the risk of dying as those who do not.^[13] They also have a higher risk of severe disability and persistent vegetative state, and traumatic SAH has been correlated with other markers of poor outcome such as post traumatic epilepsy, hydrocephalus, and longer stays in the intensive care unit.^[13] However, more than 90% of people with traumatic subarachnoid bleeding and a Glasgow Coma Score over 12 have a good outcome.^[13]

There is also modest evidence that genetic factors influence the prognosis in SAH. For example, having two copies of ApoE4 (a variant of the gene encoding apolipoprotein E that also plays a role inAlzheimer's disease) seems to increase risk for delayed ischemia and a worse outcome.^[50] The occurrence of hyperglycemia (high blood sugars) after an episode of SAH confers a higher risk of poor outcome.^[51]

Long-term outcomes

Neurocognitive symptoms, such as fatigue, mood disturbances, and other related symptoms are common sequelae. Even in those who have made good neurological recovery, anxiety, depression,posttraumatic stress disorder and cognitive impairment are common; 46% of people who have suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage have cognitive impairment that affects their quality of life.^[3] Over 60% report frequent headaches.^[52] Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage may lead to damage of the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland, two areas of the brain that play a central role in hormonal regulation and production. More than a quarter of people with a previous SAH may develop hypopituitarism (deficiencies in one or more of the hypothalamic-pituitary hormones such as growth hormone,luteinizing hormone or follicle-stimulating hormone).^[53]

Epidemiology

Average number of people with SAH per 100,000 person-years, broken down by age.^[54]

According to a review of 51 studies from 21 countries, the average incidence of subarachnoid hemorrhage is 9.1 per 100,000 annually. Studies from Japan and Finland show higher rates in those countries (22.7 and 19.7, respectively), for reasons that are not entirely understood. Southand Central America, in contrast, have a rate of 4.2 per 100,000 on average.^[54]

Although the group of people at risk for SAH is younger than the population usually affected by stroke,^[2] the risk still increases with age. Young people are much much less likely than middle-aged people (risk ratio 0.1, or 10%) to suffer a subarachnoid hemorrhage.^[54] The risk continues to rise with age and is 60% higher in the very elderly (over 85) than in those between 45 and 55.^[54] Risk of SAH is about 25% higher in women over 55 compared to men the same age, probably reflecting the hormonal changes that result from the menopause, such as a decrease inestrogen levels.^[54]

Genetics may play a role in a person's disposition to SAH; risk is increased three- to fivefold in first-degree relatives of people who have suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage.^[4] However, lifestyle factors are more important in determining overall risk.^[2] These risk factors are smoking, hypertension (high blood pressure) and excessive alcohol intake.^[17] Having smoked in the past confers a doubled risk of SAH compared to those who have never smoked.^[2] Some protection of uncertain significance is conferred by Caucasian ethnicity, hormone replacement therapy,diabetes mellitus and higher than normal levels of cholesterol.^[2] Approximately 4% of aneurysmal bleeds occur after sexual intercourse and 10% of people with SAH are bending over or lifting heavy objects at the onset of their symptoms.^[5]

Overall, about 1% of all people have one or more cerebral aneurysms. Most of these, however, are small and unlikely to rupture.^[28]

History

While the clinical picture of subarachnoid hemorrhage may have been recognized by Hippocrates, the existence of cerebral aneurysms and the fact that they could rupture was not established until the 18th century.^[55] The associated symptoms were described in more detail in 1886 by Edinburgh physician Dr Byrom Bramwell.^[56] In 1924, London neurologist Sir Dr Charles P. Symonds (1890–1978) gave a complete account of all major symptoms of subarachnoid hemorrhage, and he coined the term "spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage".^[55][57][58] Symonds also described the use of lumbar puncture and xanthochromia in diagnosis.^[59]

The first surgical intervention was performed by Mr Norman Dott, who was a pupil of Dr Harvey Cushing then working in Edinburgh. He introduced the wrapping of aneurysms in the 1930s, and was an early pioneer in the use of angiograms.^[58] American neurosurgeon Dr Walter Dandy, working in Baltimore, was the first to introduce clips in 1938.^[30] Microsurgery was applied to aneurysm treatment in 1972 in order to further improve outcomes.^[60] The 1980s saw the introduction of triple H therapy^[41] as a treatment for delayed ischemia due to vasospasm, and trials with nimodipine^[38][61] in an attempt to prevent this complication. In 1983, the Russian neurosurgeon Zubkov and colleagues reported the first use of transluminal balloon angioplasty for vasospasm after aneurysmal SAH.^[62][63]The Italian neurosurgeon Dr Guido Guglielmi introduced his endovascular coil treatment in 1991.^[31][64]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z} van Gijn J, Kerr RS, Rinkel GJ (2007). "Subarachnoid haemorrhage". Lancet 369 (9558): 306–18. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(07)60153-6.PMID 17258671.


2. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Feigin VL, Rinkel GJ, Lawes CM, et al. (2005). "Risk factors for subarachnoid hemorrhage: an updated systematic review of epidemiological studies". Stroke 36 (12): 2773–80. doi:10.1161/01.STR.0000190838.02954.e8. PMID 16282541.


3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} Suarez JI, Tarr RW, Selman WR (January 2006). "Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage". New England Journal of Medicine 354 (4): 387–96. doi:10.1056/NEJMra052732.PMID 16436770.


4. ^ ^a b c Longmore, Murray; Ian Wilkinson, Tom Turmezei, Chee Kay Cheung (2007). Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine, 7th edition. Oxford University Press. p. 841. ISBN 0-19-856837-1.


5. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Ramrakha, Punit; Kevin Moore (2007). Oxford Handbook of Acute Medicine, 2nd edition. Oxford University Press. pp. 466–470. ISBN 0-19-852072-6.


6. ^ ^a b c d Warrell, David A; Timothy M. Cox, et al. (2003). Oxford Textbook of Medicine, Fourth Edition, Volume 3. Oxford. pp. 1032–1034. ISBN 0-19-857013-9.


7. ^ McCarron MO, Alberts MJ, McCarron P (2004). "A systematic review of Terson's syndrome: Frequency and prognosis after subarachnoid haemorrhage". Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry 75 (3): 491–3. doi:10.1136/jnnp.2003.016816. PMC 1738971.PMID 14966173.


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10. ^ O'Leary, R.; McKinlay, J.. "Neurogenic pulmonary oedema". Continuing Education in Anaesthesia, Critical Care & Pain 11 (3): 87–92. doi:10.1093/bjaceaccp/mkr006.


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33. ^ van der Schaaf I, Algra A, Wermer M, et al. (2005). "Endovascular coiling versus neurosurgical clipping for patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage". Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (Online) (4): CD003085. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD003085.pub2.PMID 16235314.


34. ^ Campi A, Ramzi N, Molyneux AJ, et al. (2007). "Retreatment of ruptured cerebral aneurysms in patients randomized by coiling or clipping in the International Subarachnoid Aneurysm Trial (ISAT)". Stroke 38 (5): 1538–44. doi:10.1161/STROKEAHA.106.466987. PMID 17395870.


35. ^ Piotin M, Spelle L, Mounayer C, et al. (2007). "Intracranial aneurysms: Treatment with bare platinum coils—aneurysm packing, complex coils, and angiographic recurrence". Radiology243 (2): 500–8. doi:10.1148/radiol.2431060006. PMID 17293572.


36. ^ Raymond J, Guilbert F, Weill A, et al. (2003). "Long-term angiographic recurrences after selective endovascular treatment of aneurysms with detachable coils". Stroke 34 (6): 1398–403.doi:10.1161/01.STR.0000073841.88563.E9. PMID 12775880.


37. ^ ^a b Dorhout Mees S, Rinkel G, Feigin V, et al. (2007). "Calcium antagonists for aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage". Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (Online) (3): CD000277.doi:10.1002/14651858.CD000277.pub3. PMID 17636626.


38. ^ ^a b Allen GS, Ahn HS, Preziosi TJ, et al. (1983). "Cerebral arterial spasm: A controlled trial of nimodipine in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage". New England Journal of Medicine 308(11): 619–24. doi:10.1056/NEJM198303173081103. PMID 6338383.


39. ^ Vergouwen MD, Vermeulen M, Roos YB (December 2006). "Effect of nimodipine on outcome in patients with traumatic subarachnoid haemorrhage: A systematic review". Lancet Neurology 5(12): 1029–32. doi:10.1016/S1474-4422(06)70582-8. PMID 17110283.


40. ^ Vergouwen MD, de Haan, RJ, Vermeulen, M, Roos, YB (2010 Jan). "Effect of statin treatment on vasospasm, delayed cerebral ischemia, and functional outcome in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: a systematic review and meta-analysis update". Stroke 41 (1): e47-52. doi:10.1161/STROKEAHA.109.556332. PMID 19875741.


41. ^ ^a b Kassell NF, Peerless SJ, Durward QJ, Beck DW, Drake CG, Adams HP (September 1982). "Treatment of ischemic deficits from vasospasm with intravascular volume expansion and induced arterial hypertension". Neurosurgery 11 (3): 337–43. doi:10.1097/00006123-198209000-00001.PMID 7133349.


42. ^ Sen J, Belli A, Albon H, Morgan L, Petzold A, Kitchen N (October 2003). "Triple-H therapy in the management of aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage". Lancet Neurology 2 (10): 614–21.doi:10.1016/S1474-4422(03)00531-3. PMID 14505583.


43. ^ Rosengart AJ, Huo JD, Tolentino J, et al. (August 2007). "Outcome in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage treated with antiepileptic drugs". Journal of Neurosurgery 107 (2): 253–60.doi:10.3171/JNS-07/08/0253. PMID 17695377.


44. ^ Naval NS, Stevens RD, Mirski MA, Bhardwaj A (February 2006). "Controversies in the management of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage". Critical Care Medicine 34 (2): 511–24.doi:10.1097/01.CCM.0000198331.45998.85. PMID 16424735.


45. ^ Liu KC, Bhardwaj A (2007). "Use of prophylactic anticonvulsants in neurologic critical care: a critical appraisal". Neurocritical Care 7 (2): 175–84. doi:10.1007/s12028-007-0061-5.PMID 17763834.


46. ^ ^a b c Rosengart AJ, Schultheiss KE, Tolentino J, Macdonald RL (August 2007). "Prognostic factors for outcome in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage". Stroke 38 (8): 2315–21. doi:10.1161/STROKEAHA.107.484360. PMID 17569871.


47. ^ Naidech AM, Kreiter KT, Janjua N, et al. (March 2005). "Phenytoin exposure is associated with functional and cognitive disability after subarachnoid hemorrhage". Stroke 36 (3): 583–7.doi:10.1161/01.STR.0000141936.36596.1e. PMID 15662039.


48. ^ Lindsay, Kenneth W; Ian Bone, Robin Callander (1993). Neurology and Neurosurgery Illustrated. United States: Churchill Livingstone. ISBN 0-443-04345-0.


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50. ^ Lanterna LA, Ruigrok Y, Alexander S, et al. (August 2007). "Meta-analysis of APOE genotype and subarachnoid hemorrhage: clinical outcome and delayed ischemia". Neurology 69 (8): 766–75.doi:10.1212/01.wnl.0000267640.03300.6b. PMID 17709709.


51. ^ Kruyt ND, Biessels GJ, de Haan RJ, et al. (June 2009). "Hyperglycemia and clinical outcome in aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: a meta-analysis". Stroke 40 (6): e424–30.doi:10.1161/STROKEAHA.108.529974. PMID 19390078.


52. ^ Powell J, Kitchen N, Heslin J, Greenwood R (June 2002). "Psychosocial outcomes at three and nine months after good neurological recovery from aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage: Predictors and prognosis". Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry 72 (6): 772–81.doi:10.1136/jnnp.72.6.772. PMC 1737916. PMID 12023423.


53. ^ Schneider HJ, Kreitschmann-Andermahr I, Ghigo E, Stalla GK, Agha A (September 2007)."Hypothalamopituitary dysfunction following traumatic brain injury and aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: a systematic review". Journal of the American Medical Association 298 (12): 1429–38. doi:10.1001/jama.298.12.1429. PMID 17895459.


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wikipedia.org

FC Barcelona

Futbol Club Barcelona (Catalan pronunciation: [fubˈbɔɫ ˈkɫub bərsəˈɫonə] ( listen), English: Football Club Barcelona), also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça,[2] is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
They are the current European and Spanish football champions, and the most successful club in Spanish football in terms of domestic and overall trophies,[3] having won 21 La Liga, 25 Copa del Rey, 10 Supercopa de España, 3 Copa Eva Duarte[4] and 2 Copa de la Liga trophies, as well as being the record holder for the latter four competitions. It is also one of the most successful clubs in European and international club football, having won four UEFA Champions League, a record four UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, four UEFA Super Cup and one FIFA Club World Cup trophies.[5] They also won a record three Inter-Cities Fairs Cup trophies, considered the predecessor to the UEFA Cup.[6]
It is the only European club to have played continental football every season since 1955, and one of the only three clubs to have never been relegated from La Liga, along with Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid. In 2009, Barcelona became the first club in Spain to win the treble consisting of La Liga, Copa del Rey, and the Champions League. That same year, it also became the first football club ever to win six out of six competitions in a single year, thus completing the sextuple, comprising the aforementioned treble and the Spanish Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
Founded as Foot-Ball Club Barcelona in 1899 by a group of Swiss, English and Catalan footballers led by Joan Gamper, the club has become a symbol of Catalan culture and Catalanism, hence the motto "Més que un club" (English: More than a club). The official Barça anthem is the "Cant del Barça" written by Jaume Picas and Josep Maria Espinàs.[7] Unlike many other football clubs, the supporters own and operate Barcelona. It is the world's second richest football club in terms of revenue, with an annual turnover of €398 million. The club holds a long-standing rivalry with Real Madrid, and matches between the two teams are referred to as "El Clásico".
History

Main article: History of FC Barcelona
Birth of FC Barcelona (1899–1922)
Sports Notice: Our friend and companion Hans Gamper... former Swiss [football] champion, being keen on organising some football games in the city asks anyone who feels enthusiastic enough about the sport to present themselves at the office of this newspaper any Tuesday or Friday evening between the hours of 9 and 11pm.
Gamper's advertisement in Los Deportes[8]
On 22 October 1899, Hans Kamper placed an advertisement in Los Deportes declaring his wish to form a football club; a positive response resulted in a meeting at the Gimnasio Solé on 29 November. Eleven players attended—Walter Wild (the first director of the club), Lluís d'Ossó, Bartomeu Terradas, Otto Kunzle, Otto Maier, Enric Ducal, Pere Cabot, Carles Pujol, Josep Llobet, John Parsons, and William Parsons—and Foot-Ball Club Barcelona was born.[8]
FC Barcelona had a successful start in regional and national cups, competing in the Campionat de Catalunya and the Copa del Rey. In 1902, the club won its first trophy, the Copa Macaya, and participated in the first Copa del Rey, losing 1–2 to Bizcaya in the final.[9] Gamper became club president in 1908, the club in financial difficulty after not winning a competition since the Campionat de Catalunya in 1905. Club president on five separate occasions between 1908 and 1925, he spent 25 years in total at the helm. One of his main achievements was ensuring Barça acquire its own stadium and thus generate a stable income.[10]
On 14 March 1909, the team moved into the Camp de la Indústria, a larger stadium with a seating capacity of 8,000 people. From 1910 to 1914 Barcelona participated in the Pyrenees Cup, which consisted of the best teams of Languedoc, Midi, Aquitaine (Southern France), the Basque Country, and Catalonia. At that time it was considered the finest competition open for participation.[11][12] During the same period, the club changed its official language from Castilian to Catalan and gradually evolved into an important symbol of Catalan identity. For many fans, supporting the club had less to do with the game itself and more with being a part of the club's collective identity.[13]
Gamper launched a campaign to recruit more club members, and by 1922 the club had over 20,000 members and was able to finance a new stadium. The club to moved to the new Les Corts, inaugurated the same year.[14] Les Corts had an initial capacity of 22,000, which was later expanded to 60,000.[15] Jack Greenwell was recruited as the first full-time manager, and the club's fortunes began to improve on the field. During the Gamper era, FC Barcelona won eleven Campionat de Catalunya, six Copas del Rey, and four Pyrenees Cups.[9][10]
Rivera, Republic and Civil War (1923–1957)


The aerial bombardment of Barcelona in 1938
On 14 June 1925, the crowd in the stadium jeered the national anthem in a spontaneous protest against Miguel Primo de Rivera's dictatorship. The ground was closed for six months as a reprisal, and Gamper was forced to relinquish the club presidency.[16] This coincided with the club's transition to professionalism; in 1926 the directors of Barcelona publicly declared Barcelona a professional side for the first time.[14] The club's 1928 victory in the Spanish Cup was celebrated with a poem titled "Oda a Platko", written by a member of the Generation of '27, poet Rafael Alberti, who was inspired by the "heroic performance" of the Barcelona keeper.[17] On 30 July 1930, Gamper committed suicide after a period of depression brought on by personal and financial problems.[10]
Although they continued to have players of the standing of Josep Escolà, the club entered a period of decline in which political conflict overshadowed sport throughout society.[18] Although the team won the Campionat de Catalunya in 1930, 1931, 1932, 1934, 1936, and 1938,[9] success at a national level (with the exception of a disputed title in 1937) evaded them. A month after the Spanish Civil War began in 1936, several players from Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao enlisted in the ranks of those who fought against the military uprising.[19] On 6 August, Josep Sunyol, the club president and representative of a pro-independence political party, was murdered by Falangist soldiers near Guadarrama.[20] Dubbed the martyrdom of barcelonisme, the murder was a defining moment in the history of FC Barcelona.[21] In the summer of 1937, the squad went on tour in Mexico and the United States, where it was received as an ambassador of the Second Spanish Republic. That tour secured the club financially, but also resulted in half the team seeking asylum in Mexico and France. On 16 March 1938, Barcelona came under aerial bombardment, resulting in over 3,000 deaths; one of the bombs hit the club's offices.[22] Catalonia came under occupation a few months later. As a symbol of 'undisciplined' Catalanism, the club, down to just 3,486 members, faced a number of restrictions.[23] After the Civil War, the Catalan flag was banned and football clubs were prohibited from using non-Spanish names. These measures forced the club to change its name to Club de Fútbol Barcelona and to remove the Catalan flag from its club shield.[15]
In 1943, Barcelona faced rivals Real Madrid in the semi-finals of Copa del Generalísimo. Their first match at Les Corts was won by Barcelona 3–0. Before the second leg, Barcelona's players had a changing room visit from Franco's director of state security. He "reminded" them that they were only playing due to the "generosity of the regime". Real Madrid dominated the match, winning 11–1.[24] Despite the difficult political situation, CF Barcelona enjoyed considerable success during the 1940s and 1950s. In 1945, with Josep Samitier as managers and players like César, Ramallets, and Velasco, they won La Liga for the first time since 1929. They added to this total in 1948 and again in 1949. They also won the first Copa Latina that year. In June 1950, Barcelona signed Ladislao Kubala, who was to be an influential figure at the club.
On a rainy Sunday in 1951, the crowd left Les Corts stadium after a 2–1 win against Santander on foot, refusing to catch any trams and surprising the Francoist authorities. A tram strike was taking place in Barcelona, which received the support of blaugrana fans. Events such as this made the club represent much more than just Catalonia; many progressive Spaniards saw the club as a staunch defender of rights and freedoms.[25][26]
Managers Ferdinand Daučík and László Kubala led the team to five different trophies including La Liga, the Copa del Generalísimo (now the Copa del Rey), the Copa Latina, the Copa Eva Duarte, and the Copa Martini Rossi in 1952. In 1953, the club won La Liga and the Copa del Generalísimo again.[15]
Club de Fútbol Barcelona (1957–1978)


The club's stadium, Camp Nou, was constructed with financial backing from the club's supporters in 1957.[27]
With Helenio Herrera as manager, a young Luis Suárez, the European Footballer of the Year in 1960, and two influential Hungarians recommended by Kubala, Sándor Kocsis and Zoltán Czibor, the team won another national double in 1959 and a La Liga and Inter-Cities Fairs Cup double in 1960. In 1961 they became the first club to beat Real Madrid in European Cup competition, but lost 3–2 to Benfica in the final.[28][29][30]
The 1960s were less successful for the club, with Real Madrid monopolising La Liga. The building of the Camp Nou, completed in 1957, meant the club had little money to spend on new players.[30] On the positive side, the decade saw the emergence of Josep Maria Fusté and Carles Rexach, and the club won the Copa del Generalísimo in 1963 and the Fairs Cup in 1966. Barça restored some of its former pride by beating Real Madrid 1–0 in the 1968 Copa del Generalísimo final at the Bernabéu, in front of Franco, with former republican pilot Salvador Artigas as manager. The end of Franco's dictatorship in 1974 saw the club changing its official name back to Futbol Club Barcelona and reverting the crest to its original design, again including the original letters.[31]
The 1973–74 season saw the arrival of Johan Cruyff, who was bought for a world record £920,000 from Ajax.[32] Already an established player in Holland, Cruyff quickly won over the Barça fans when he told the European press he chose Barça over Real Madrid because he could not play for a club associated with Franco. He further endeared himself when he chose the Catalan name Jordi, after the local saint, for his son.[33] Next to players of quality like Juan Manuel Asensi, Carles Rexach, and Hugo Sotil, he helped the club win the La Liga title in 1973–74 for the first time since 1960,[9] defeating Real Madrid 5–0 at the Bernabéu along the way.[34] He was crowned European Footballer of the Year in 1973 during his first season with Barcelona (his second Ballon d'Or win; he won his first while playing for Ajax in 1971). Cruyff received this prestigious award a third time (the first player ever to do so) in 1974 while he was still with Barcelona.[35]
Núñez and the stabilisation years (1978–2000)


The European Cup, which Barcelona won in 1992.
Beginning with Josep Lluís Núñez in 1978, the president of FC Barcelona has been elected by the club members. This decision was closely tied to Spain's transition to democracy in 1974 and the end of Franco's dictatorship. Núñez's main objective was to develop Barça into a world-class club by giving it stability both on and off the pitch. On recommendation from Cruyff, Núñez inaugurated La Masia as Barcelona's youth academy on 20 October 1979.[36] His presidency was to last for 22 years and it deeply affected the image of Barcelona, as Núñez held to a strict policy regarding wages and discipline, letting players such as Diego Maradona, Romário and Ronaldo go rather than meeting their demands.[37][38]
On 16 May 1979, the club won its first UEFA Cup Winners' Cup by beating Fortuna Düsseldorf 4–3 in Basel in a final that was watched by more than 30,000 travelling blaugrana fans. In June 1982 Maradona was signed for a then-world record fee of £5 million from Boca Juniors.[39] In the following season, under manager Menotti, Barcelona won the Copa del Rey, beating Real Madrid. Maradona's time with Barça was short-lived; he soon left for Napoli. At the start of the 1984–85 season Terry Venables was hired as manager, and he won La Liga with notable displays by German midfielder Bernd Schuster. The next season Venables took the team to their second European Cup final, only to lose on penalties to Steaua Bucureşti during a dramatic evening in Seville.[37]
After the 1986 FIFA World Cup, English top scorer Gary Lineker was signed along with goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta, but the team could not achieve success as Schuster was excluded from the team. Venables was fired at the beginning of the 1987–88 season and replaced with Luis Aragonés. The players rebelled against president Núñez in an event that became known as the Hesperia mutiny, and a 1–0 victory at the Copa del Rey final against Real Sociedad finished out the season.[37]


Johan Cruyff won four consecutive La Liga titles as manager of Barcelona.
In 1988, Johan Cruyff returned to the club as manager and he assembled the so-called Dream Team. He used a mix of Spanish players like Josep Guardiola, José Mari Bakero, and Txiki Begiristain while signing international stars such as Ronald Koeman, Michael Laudrup, Romário, and Hristo Stoichkov.[40] Under his guidance, Barcelona won four consecutive La Liga titles from 1991 to 1994. They beat Sampdoria in both the 1989 Cup Winners' Cup final and the 1992 European Cup final at Wembley. They also won a Copa del Rey in 1990, the European Super Cup in 1992, and three Supercopa de España. With 11 trophies, Cruyff became the club's most successful manager to date, currently sharing the honours with Pep Guardiola.[41] He also became the club's longest consecutive serving manager, serving 8 years.[42] Cruyff's fortune changed in his final two seasons, when he failed to win any trophies and fell out with president Núñez, resulting in his departure.[37]
Cruyff was briefly replaced by Bobby Robson, who took charge of the club for a single season in 1996–97. He recruited Ronaldo from PSV and delivered a cup treble, winning the Copa del Rey, Cup Winners Cup, and the Supercopa de España. Despite his success Robson was only ever seen as a short-term solution while the club waited for Louis van Gaal to become available.[43] Like Maradona, Ronaldo only stayed a short time as he left for Internazionale. However, new heroes such as Luís Figo, Patrick Kluivert, Luis Enrique, and Rivaldo emerged and the team won a Copa del Rey and La Liga double in 1998. In 1999 the club celebrated its 'centenari', winning the Primera División title. Rivaldo became the fourth Barça player to be awarded European Footballer of the Year. Despite this domestic success, the failure to emulate Real Madrid in the Champions League led to van Gaal and Núñez resigning in 2000.[43]
Exit Núñez, enter Laporta (2000–2008)
The departures of Núñez and van Gaal were nothing compared to that of Luís Figo. As well as club vice-captain, Figo had become a cult hero and was considered by Catalans to be one of their own. Barça fans were distraught by Figo's decision to join arch-rivals Real Madrid, and during subsequent visits to the Camp Nou, he was given an extremely hostile reception. Upon his first return a piglet's head and a full bottle of whiskey were thrown at him from the crowd.[44] President Núñez was replaced by Joan Gaspart in 2000, and the three years he was in charge, saw the club decline and managers came and went; van Gaal served a second term. Gaspart did not inspire confidence off the field either and in 2003, he and van Gaal resigned.[45]
After the disappointment of the Gaspart era, the club bounced back with the combination of a new young president, Joan Laporta, and a young new manager, former Dutch player Frank Rijkaard. On the field, an influx of international players combined with home-grown Spanish players led to the club's return to success. Barça won La Liga and the Supercopa de España in 2004–05, and the team's midfielder, Ronaldinho, won the FIFA World Player of the Year award.[46]
In the 2005–06 season, Barcelona repeated their league and Supercup successes.[47] In the Champions League, Barça beat English club Arsenal 2–1 in the final. Trailing 1–0 to a 10-man Arsenal and with less than 15 minutes left, they came back to win 2–1 for the club's first European Cup victory in 14 years.[48] They took part in the 2006 FIFA Club World Cup, but were beaten by a late goal in the final against Brazilian side Internacional.[49] Despite being the favourites and starting strongly, Barcelona finished the 2006–07 season without trophies. A pre-season U.S. tour and open feud between the player Samuel Eto'o and Rijkaard was later blamed for the lack of trophies.[50][51] In La Liga, Barça were in first place for much of the season, but their inconsistency in the new year allowed Real Madrid to overtake them to become champions.
The Guardiola Era (2008–)


The sextuple, which Barcelona won in 2009.
The 2007–08 season was unsuccessful, and as Barça failed to emulate the success of previous years, Barça B youth manager Josep Guardiola took over Frank Rijkaard's duties at the conclusion of the season.[52] Josep Guardiola brought with him the now famous tiki-taka style of play which he had been taught during his time in the Barcelona youth teams. In the proces Guardiola sold Ronaldinho and Deco, and started building the Barcelona team around Xavi, Iniesta and Messi.
Barça beat Athletic Bilbao 4–1 in the 2009 Copa del Rey Final, winning the competition for a record-breaking 25th time. A historic 2–6 victory against Real Madrid followed three days later and ensured that Barcelona became La Liga champions for the 2008–09 season. Barça finished the season by beating the previous year's Champions League winners Manchester United 2–0 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome to win their third Champions League title and completed the first ever treble won by a Spanish side.[53][54][55] The team went on to win the 2009 Supercopa de España against Athletic Bilbao[56] and the 2009 UEFA Super Cup against Shakhtar Donetsk,[57] becoming the first European club to win both domestic and European Super Cups following a treble. In December 2009, Barcelona won the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup,[58] and became the first football club ever to accomplish the sextuple.[59] Barcelona accomplished two new records in Spanish football in 2010 as they retained the La Liga trophy with 99 points and won the Spanish Super Cup trophy for a ninth time.[60][61]
After Laporta's departure from the club in June 2010, Sandro Rosell was soon elected as the new president. The elections were held on June 13, where he got 61.35% (57,088 votes, a record) of total votes.[62] Rosell signed David Villa from Valencia for €40M[63] and Javier Mascherano from Liverpool for €19M.[64] In November 2010, Barcelona defeated their main rival, Real Madrid 5–0 in El Clásico. In the 2010–11 season, Barcelona retained the La Liga trophy, their third title in succession, finishing with 96 points.[65] In April 2011, the club reached the Copa del Rey final, losing 1–0 to Real Madrid at the Mestalla in Valencia.[66] In May, Barcelona defeated Manchester United in the 2011 Champions League Final 3–1 held at Wembley Stadium, a repeat of the 2009 final, winning their fourth European Cup.[67] In August 2011 the La Masia graduate Cesc Fàbregas was bought from Arsenal and who would help Barcelona defend the Spanish Supercup against Real Madrid. The Supercup victory brought the total amount of official trophies to 73, matching the number of titles won by Real Madrid.[68]
Later the same month Barcelona won the UEFA Super Cup defeating FC Porto thanks to goals from Lionel Messi and Cesc Fábregas, thus extending the clubs overall amount of official trophies to 74, surpassing Real Madrids total amount of official trophies.[69] The UEFA Super Cup victory also marked another impressive achievement as Josep Guardiola won his 12 trophy out of 15 possible in only 3 years at the helm of the club and becoming the all-time record holder of most titles won as a coach at FC Barcelona.[70]
Support

Main article: Supporters of FC Barcelona
The nickname culer for a Barcelona supporter is derived from the Catalan cul (English: arse), as the spectators at the first stadium, Camp de la Indústria, sat with their culs over the stand. In Spain, about 25% of the population are said to be Barça sympathisers, second behind Real Madrid, supported by 32% of the population. Valencia is third, with 5%.[71] Throughout Europe, Barcelona is the favourite second-choice club.[72] The club's membership figures have seen a significant increase from 100,000 in the 2003–04 season to 170,000 in September 2009,[73] the sharp rise being attributed to the influence of Ronaldinho and then-president Joan Laporta's media strategy that focused on Spanish and English online media.[74][75]
In addition to membership, as of June 2010 there are 1,335 officially registered fan clubs, called penyes, around the world. The fan clubs promote Barcelona in their locality and receive beneficial offers when visiting Barcelona.[76] The club has had many prominent persons among its supporters, including Pope John Paul II, who was an honorary member, and current prime minister of Spain José Zapatero.[77][78]
El Clásico
Main article: El Clásico
There is often a fierce rivalry between the two strongest teams in a national league, and this is particularly the case in La Liga, where the game between Barça and Real Madrid is known as El Clásico. From the start of national competitions the clubs were seen as representatives of two rival regions in Spain: Catalonia and Castile, as well as of the two cities. The rivalry reflects what many regard as the political and cultural tensions felt between Catalans and the Castilians, seen by one author as a re-enactment of the Spanish Civil War.[79]
During the dictatorships of Primo de Rivera and especially of Francisco Franco (1939–1975), all regional cultures were suppressed. All of the languages spoken in Spanish territory, except Spanish (Castilian) itself, were officially banned.[80][81] Symbolising the Catalan people's desire for freedom, Barça became 'More than a club' (Més que un club) for the Catalans. According to Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, the best way for the Catalans to demonstrate their identity was by joining Barça. It was less risky than joining a clandestine anti-Franco movement, and allowed them to express their dissidence.[82]
On the other hand, Real Madrid was widely seen as the embodiment of the sovereign oppressive centralism and the fascist regime at management level and beyond (Santiago Bernabeu, the former club president for whom the Merengues stadium is named, fought with los nacionales).[83][84] However, during the Spanish Civil War, members of both clubs such as Josep Sunyol and Rafael Sánchez Guerra suffered at the hands of Franco supporters.
During the 1950s the rivalry was exacerbated further when there was a controversy surrounding the transfer of Alfredo di Stéfano, who finally played for Real Madrid and was key to their subsequent success.[85] The 1960s saw the rivalry reach the European stage when they met twice at the knock-out rounds of the European Cup.[9] The latest European encounter between the clubs, in 2002, was dubbed the "Match of The Century" by Spanish media, and was watched by more than 500 million people.[86]
El derbi Barceloní
Main article: El derbi Barceloní
Barça's local rival has always been Espanyol. Blanc-i-blaus, being one of the clubs granted royal patronage, was founded exclusively by Spanish football fans, unlike the multinational nature of Barça's primary board. The founding message of the club was clearly anti-Barcelona, and they disapprovingly saw FC Barcelona as a team of foreigners.[87] The rivalry was strengthened by what Catalonians saw as a provocative representative of Madrid.[88] Their original ground was in the affluent district of Sarrià.[89][90]
Traditionally, especially during the Franco regime, Espanyol was seen by the vast majority of Barcelona's citizens as a club which cultivated a kind of compliance to the central authority, in stark contrast to Barça's revolutionary spirit.[91] In 1918 Espanyol started a counter-petition against autonomy, which at that time had become a pertinent issue.[87] Later on, an Espanyol supporter group would join the Falangists in the Spanish civil war, siding with the fascists. Despite these differences in ideology, the derbi has always been more relevant to Espanyol supporters than Barcelona ones due to the difference in objectives. In recent years the rivalry has become less political, as Espanyol translated its official name and anthem from Spanish to Catalan.[87]
Though it is the most played local derby in the history of La Liga, it is also the most unbalanced, with Barcelona overwhelmingly dominant. In the league table, Espanyol have only managed to end above Barça on three occasions in almost 70 years and the only all-Catalan Copa del Rey final was won by Barça in 1957. Espanyol has the consolation of achieving the largest margin win with a 6–0 in 1951. Espanyol achieved a 2–1 win against Barça during the 2008–09 season, becoming the first team to defeat Barcelona at Camp Nou in their treble-winning season.[92]
Finances and ownership

In 2010, Forbes evaluated Barcelona's worth to be around €752 million (USD $1 billion), ranking them fourth after Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Arsenal, based on figures from the 2008–09 season.[93][94] According to Deloitte, Barcelona had a recorded revenue of €366 million in the same period, ranking second to Real Madrid, who generated €401 million in revenue.[95]
Along with Real Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, and Osasuna, Barcelona is organised as a registered association. Unlike a limited company, it is not possible to purchase shares in the club, but only membership.[96] The members of Barcelona, called socis, form an assembly of delegates which is the highest governing body of the club.[97] As of 2010 the club has 170,000 socis.[73]
An audit by Deloitte in July 2010 showed that Barcelona had a net debt of €442 million, currently 58% of net worth as evaluated by Forbes. The new management of Barcelona, which had ordered the audit, cited "structural problems" as the cause of the debt.[98] News had emerged that the club had recorded a loss of €79 million over the course of the year, despite having defended their La Liga title.[citation needed]
ESPN reported that for 2011, Barcelona's gross debt stands at around €483m and the net debt is at €364.[99] Barcelona was found by ESPN to have the highest average salary per player of all professional sports teams in the world, just ahead of rival Real Madrid.[100]
Records

For more details on this topic, see List of FC Barcelona records and statistics.
Xavi presently holds the team records for number of total games played (583) and La Liga appearances (385).[101]
FC Barcelona's all-time highest goalscorer in all competitions (including friendlies) is Paulino Alcántara with 357 goals.[101] The record league scorer is César Rodríguez , who scored 195 goals in La Liga between 1942 and 1955. That record is likely to be broken soon as the current leading league scorer Lionel Messi has scored 119 goals.[102] Only four people have managed to score over 100 league goals at Barcelona: César Rodríguez (195), Ladislao Kubala (131), Lionel Messi (119) and Samuel Eto'o (108) .
On 2 February 2009, Barcelona reached a total of 5,000 La Liga goals. The goal was converted by Messi in a game against Racing Santander, which Barça won 2–1.[103] On 18 December 2009 Barcelona beat Estudiantes 2–1 to win their sixth title in a year and became the first ever football team to complete the sextuple.[104]
Barcelona's highest home attendance was 120,000, for a European Cup quarter-final against Juventus on 3 March 1986.[105] The modernisation of Camp Nou during the 1990s and the introduction of all-seater stands means the record will not be broken for the foreseeable future as the current legal capacity of the stadium is 98,772.[106]
Crest and shirt



The first crest worn by Barcelona
Since its foundation the club has played with a crest. The club's original crest was a quartered diamond-shaped crest topped by the Crown of Aragon and the bat of King James, and surrounded by two branches, one of a laurel tree and the other a palm.[107] In 1910 the club held a competition among its members to design a new crest. The winner was Carles Comamala, who at the time played for the club. Comamala's suggestion became the crest that the club wears today, with some minor variations. The crest consists of the St George Cross in the upper-left corner with the Catalan flag beside it, and the team colours at the bottom.[107]
The blue and red colours of the shirt were first worn in a match against Hispania in 1900.[108] Several competing theories have been put forth for the blue and red design of the Barcelona shirt. The son of the first president, Arthur Witty, claimed it was the idea of his father as the colours were the same as the Merchant Taylor's School team. Another explanation, according to author Toni Strubell, is that the colours are from Robespierre's First Republic. In Catalonia the common perception is that the colours were chosen by Joan Gamper and are those of his home team, FC Basel.[109]
Since its founding, Barcelona has never worn corporate advertisements on their shirt. On 14 July 2006, the club announced a five year agreement with UNICEF, which includes having the UNICEF logo on their shirts. The agreement has the club donate €1.5 million per year to UNICEF (0.7 percent of its ordinary income, equal to the UN International Aid Target, cf. ODA) via the FC Barcelona Foundation.[110] The FC Barcelona Foundation is an entity set up in 1994 on the suggestion of then-chairman of the Economical-Statutory Committee, Jaime Gil-Aluja. The idea was to set up a foundation that could attract financial sponsorships to support a non-profit sport company.[111] In 2004, a company could become one of 25 "Honorary members" by contributing between £40,000–60,000 (£45,800–68,700)[112] per year. There are also 48 associate memberships available for an annual fee of £14,000 (£16,000)[112] and an unlimited number of "patronages" for the cost of £4,000 per year (£4,600).[112] It is unclear whether the honorary members have any formal say in club policy, but according to the author Anthony King, it is "unlikely that Honorary Membership would not involve at least some informal influence over the club".[113]
Barcelona will end their refusal of corporate sponsorship in the 2011–2012 season, having signed a five-year €150m deal with the Qatar Foundation.[114]
Period Kit manufacturer Shirt partner
1982–1992 Meyba None
1992–1998 Kappa
1998–2006 Nike
2006–2011 UNICEF
2011– Qatar Foundation, UNICEF
Stadiums

Main articles: Camp de la Indústria, Camp de Les Corts, and Camp Nou


An elevated view of a full Camp Nou
Barcelona initially played in the Camp de la Indústria. The capacity was about 6,000, and club officials deemed the facilities inadequate for a club with growing membership.[115]
In 1922, the number of supporters had surpassed 20,000 and by lending money to the club, Barça was able to build the larger Camp de Les Corts, which had an initial capacity of 20,000 spectators. After the Spanish Civil War the club started attracting more members and a larger number of spectators at matches. This led to several expansion projects: the grandstand in 1944, the southern stand in 1946, and finally the northern stand in 1950. After the last expansion, Les Corts could hold 60,000 spectators.[116]
After the construction was complete there was no further room for expansion at Les Corts. Back-to-back La Liga titles in 1948 and 1949 and the signing of in June 1950 of László Kubala, who would later go on to score 196 goals in 256 matches, drew larger crowds to the games.[116][117][118] The club began to make plans for a new stadium.[116] The building of Camp Nou commenced on 28 March 1954, before a crowd of 60,000 Barça fans. The first stone of the future stadium was laid in place under the auspices of Governor Felipe Acedo Colunga and with the blessing of Archbishop of Barcelona Gregorio Modrego. Construction took three years and ended on 24 September 1957 with a final cost of 288 million pesetas, 336% over budget.[116]


One of the stands displaying Barcelona's motto, "Més que un club", meaning 'More than a club'
In 1980, when the stadium was in need of redesign to meet UEFA criteria, the club raised money by offering supporters the opportunity to inscribe their name on the bricks for a small fee. The idea was popular with supporters, and thousands of people paid the fee. Later this became the centre of controversy when media in Madrid picked up reports that one of the stones was inscribed with the name of long-time Real Madrid chairman and Franco supporter Santiago Bernabéu.[119][120][121] In preparation for the 1992 Summer Games two tiers of seating were installed above the previous roofline.[122] It has a current capacity of 99,354 making it the largest stadium in Europe.[123]
There are also other facilities, which include:[124]
Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper (FC Barcelona's training ground)
Masia-Centre de Formació Oriol Tort (Residence of young players)
Mini Estadi (Home of the reserve team)
Palau Blaugrana (FC Barcelona indoor sports arena)
Palau Blaugrana 2 (Secondary indoor arena of FC Barcelona)
Pista de Gel (FC Barcelona ice rink)
Honours

See also: FC Barcelona honours and FC Barcelona in Europe
FC Barcelona is the most successful club in Spanish football in terms of domestic and overall trophies,[125] having won 21 La Liga, 25 Copa del Rey, 10 Supercopa de España, 3 Copa Eva Duarte[4] and 2 Copa de la Liga trophies, as well as being the record holder for the latter four competitions. It is also one of most successful clubs in European football, having won 4 UEFA Champions League, a record 4 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, 4 UEFA Super Cup and 1 FIFA Club World Cup trophies.[5] They also won a record 3 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup trophies, considered the predecessor to the UEFA Cup.[126]
It is the only European club to have played continental football every season since 1955, and one of the only three clubs to have never been relegated from La Liga, along with Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid. In 2009, Barcelona became the first club in Spain to win the treble consisting of La Liga, Copa del Rey, and the Champions League. That same year, it also became the first football club ever to win six out of six competitions in a single year, thus completing the sextuple, comprising the aforementioned treble and the Spanish Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
Domestic
League
La Liga[127]
Winners (21): 1928–1929, 1944–45, 1947–48, 1948–49, 1951–52, 1952–53, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1973–74, 1984–85, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11
Runners-up (22): 1929–30, 1945–46, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1955–56, 1961–62, 1963–64, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1970–71, 1972–73, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1981–82, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1988–89, 1996–97, 1999–00, 2003–04, 2006–07
Cups
Copa del Rey[128]
Winners (25): 1909–10, 1911–12, 1912–13, 1918–19, 1921–22, 1924–25, 1925–26, 1927–28, 1941–42, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1952–53, 1956–57, 1958–59, 1962–63, 1967–68, 1970–71, 1977–78, 1980–81, 1982–83, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1996–97, 1997–98, 2008–09
Runners-up (9): 1918–19, 1931–32, 1935–36, 1953–54, 1973–74, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1995–96, 2010–11
Copa de la Liga[129]
Winners (2): 1982–83, 1985–86
Supercopa de España[130]
Winners (10): 1983, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011
Runners-up (7): 1985, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1997, 1998, 1999
Copa Eva Duarte (Predecessor to the Supercopa de España)[131]
Winners (3): 1947, 1952, 1952[4]
Runners-up (2): 1949, 1951
European
European Cup / UEFA Champions League[132]
Winners (4): 1991–92, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2010–11
Runners-up (3): 1960–61, 1985–86, 1993–94
European Cup Winners' Cup / UEFA Cup Winners' Cup[133]
Winners (4): 1978–79, 1981–82, 1988–89, 1996–97
Runners-up (2): 1968–69, 1990–91
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (the forerunner to the UEFA Europa League, although not recognized by UEFA)
Winners (3): 1955–58, 1958–60, 1965–66
Runners-up (1): 1961–62
European Super Cup / UEFA Super Cup[134]
Winners (4): 1992, 1997, 2009, 2011
Runners-up (4): 1979, 1982, 1989, 2006
Worldwide
Intercontinental Cup
Runners-up (1): 1992
FIFA Club World Cup[135]
Winners (1): 2009
Runners-up (1): 2006
Current squad

Main article: List of FC Barcelona players
For a list of all former and current FC Barcelona players with a Wikipedia article, see Category:FC Barcelona footballers.
Spanish teams are limited to three players without EU citizenship. The squad list includes only the principal nationality of each player; several non-European players on the squad have dual citizenship with an EU country. Also, players from the ACP countries—countries in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific that are signatories to the Cotonou Agreement—are not counted against non-EU quotas due to the Kolpak ruling.
See 2011–12 FC Barcelona season
As of 15 August 2011.[136][137][138]
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
No. Position Player
1 GK Víctor Valdés (3rd captain)
2 DF Daniel Alves
3 DF Gerard Piqué
4 MF Cesc Fàbregas
5 DF Carles Puyol (captain)
6 MF Xavi Hernández (vice-captain)
7 FW David Villa
8 MF Andrés Iniesta (4th captain)
9 FW Alexis Sánchez
10 FW Lionel Messi
11 MF Thiago Alcântara
No. Position Player
13 GK José Manuel Pinto
14 MF Javier Mascherano
15 MF Seydou Keita
16 MF Sergio Busquets
17 FW Pedro Rodríguez
19 DF Maxwell
20 MF Ibrahim Afellay
21 DF Adriano
22 DF Éric Abidal
24 DF Andreu Fontàs
Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
No. Position Player
— DF Henrique (to Palmeiras)
— MF Alexander Hleb (to Wolfsburg)
No. Position Player
— FW Keirrison (to Cruzeiro)
Personnel

Current technical staff


Josep Guardiola, the current manager of FC Barcelona
See also List of FC Barcelona managers
Position Staff
Manager Josep Guardiola
Assistant manager Tito Vilanova
Fitness coach Lorenzo Buenaventura, Paco Seirullo, Aureli Altimira, Francesc Cos
Goalkeeping coach Juan Carlos Unzué
Director of football Andoni Zubizarreta
Academy director Guillermo Amor
Youth manager Eusebio Sacristán
Last updated: 6 July 2011
Source: FC Barcelona
Management

See also: List of FC Barcelona presidents


Sandro Rosell, the current President of FC Barcelona
Office Name
President Sandro Rosell
Vice president of social area Jordi Cardoner
Vice president of sports area Josep Bartomeu
Corporate director general Antoni Rossich
Board secretary Antoni Freixa
Treasurer Susana Monje
Director of social area Ramon Pont
Last updated: 1 July 2010
Source: FC Barcelona
See also

Book: FC Barcelona
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.
Sports
FC Barcelona Bàsquet
FC Barcelona Futsal
FC Barcelona Handbol
FC Barcelona Ice Hockey
FC Barcelona Hoquei
FC Barcelona Rugby
FC Barcelona Rugby League
Reserve teams
FC Barcelona B
FC Barcelona C
Other
Joan Gamper Trophy
List of fan-owned sports teams
Supporters of FC Barcelona
Forbes' list of the most valuable football clubs
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^ a b c The Copa Eva Duarte was only recognized and organized with that name by the RFEF from 1947 until 1953, and therefore Barcelona's "Copa de Oro Argentina" win of 1945 is not included in this count, i.e. only the 1948, 1952 and 1953 trophies are.
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^ But not an official title, as the competition was not organized by UEFA (for further reference see https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/List_of_confederation_and_inter-confederation_club_competition_winners, in particular reference 8).
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Further reading

Arnaud, Pierre; Riordan, James (1998). Sport and international politics. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-419-21440-3.
Ball, Phill (2003). Morbo: The Story of Spanish Football. WSC Books Limited. ISBN 0-9540134-6-8.
Burns, Jimmy (1998). Barça: A People's Passion. Bloomsbury. ISBN 0-7475-4554-5.
Chadwick, Simon; Arthur, Dave (2007). International cases in the business of sport. Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 0-7506-8543-3.
Desbordes, Michael (2007). Marketing and football: an international perspective. Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 0-7506-8204-3.
Dobson, Stephen; Goddard, John A. (2001). The economics of football. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-66158-7.
Eaude, Michael (2008). Catalonia: a cultural history. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-532797-7.
Ferrand, Alain; McCarthy, Scott (2008). Marketing the Sports Organisation: Building Networks and Relationships. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0-415-45329-1.
Fisk, Peter (2008). Business Genius: A More Inspired Approach to Business Growth. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 1-84112-790-6.
Ghemawat, Pankaj (2007). Redefining global strategy: crossing borders in a world where differences still matter. Harvard Business Press. p. 2. ISBN 1-59139-866-5.
Farred, Grant (2008). Long distance love: a passion for football. Temple University Press. ISBN 1-59213-374-6.
Ferrand, Alain; McCarthy, Scott (2008). Marketing the Sports Organisation: Building Networks and Relationships. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0-415-45329-1.
King, Anthony (2003). The European ritual: football in the new Europe. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 0-7546-3652-6.
Kleiner-Liebau, Désirée (2009). Migration and the Construction of National Identity in Spain. 15. Iberoamericana Editorial. ISBN 84-8489-476-2.
Murray, Bill; Murray, William J. (1998). The world's game: a history of soccer. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-06718-5.
Peterson, Marc (2009). The Integrity of the Game and Shareholdings in European Football Clubs. GRIN Verlag. ISBN 3-640-43109-X.
Raguer, Hilari (2007). The Catholic Church and the Spanish Civil War. 11. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-31889-0.
Shubert, Adrian (1990). A social history of modern Spain. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-09083-0.
Snyder, John (2001). Soccer's most wanted: the top 10 book of clumsy keepers, clever crosses, and outlandish oddities. Brassey's. ISBN 1-57488-365-8.
Spaaij, Ramón (2006). Understanding football hooliganism: a comparison of six Western European football clubs. Amsterdam University Press. ISBN 90-5629-445-8.
Witzig, Richard (2006). The Global Art of Soccer. CusiBoy Publishing. ISBN 0-9776688-0-0.
Filmography

Jordi Feliú, Barça, 75 años de historia del Fútbol Club Barcelona, 1974.