Journal of neurosurgery
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Journal of neurosurgery · Sep 2012
Improvements in site-specific quality of life 6 months after endoscopic anterior skull base surgery: a prospective study.
Endoscopic skull base surgery (ESBS) is a minimal-access technique that provides an alternative to traditional approaches. Patient-reported outcomes are becoming increasingly important in measuring the success of surgical interventions. Endoscopic skull base surgery may lead to improvements in quality of life (QOL) since natural orifices are used to reach the pathology; however, sinonasal QOL may be negatively affected. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of ESBS on both site-specific QOL, using the Anterior Skull Base Questionnaire (ASBQ), and sinonasal-related QOL, using the Sino-Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22). ⋯ Endoscopic skull base surgery is associated with an improvement in postoperative site-specific QOL as compared with the preoperative QOL. Short-term improvements are greater if gross-total resection is achieved. Sinonasal QOL transiently declines and then returns to preoperative baseline levels. Endoscopic skull base surgery is a valuable tool in the neurosurgical management of anterior skull base pathology, leading to improvements in site-specific QOL.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Sep 2012
Neuronal immunoexpression and a distinct subtype of adult primary supratentorial glioblastoma with a better prognosis.
In this study, the authors address whether neurofilament protein (NFP) expression can be used as an independent prognostic factor in primary glioblastoma multiformes (GBMs). ⋯ Neurofilament protein-positive immunoexpression represents a strong, therapeutically independent prognostic factor for primary supratentorial GBM clinical outcome among adult patients. Neurofilament protein-GBM's unique pathological features are not only associated with distinct clinical and anatomical behavior, but are also predictive of overall patient survival and PFS. Neurofilament protein immunoexpression may help identify a distinct subgroup of primary GBMs with a favorable prognosis, which should be considered in the design of future targeted therapies.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Sep 2012
Axillary nerve repair by fascicle transfer from the ulnar or median nerve in upper brachial plexus palsy.
Nerve repair using motor fascicles of a different nerve was first described for the repair of elbow flexion (Oberlin technique). In this paper, the authors describe their experience with a similar method for axillary nerve reconstruction in cases of upper brachial plexus palsy. ⋯ The authors conclude that fascicle transfer from the ulnar or median nerve onto the axillary nerve is a safe and effective method for reconstruction of the axillary nerve in patients with upper brachial plexus injury.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Sep 2012
Comparative StudyEffects of aging on behavioral assessment performance: implications for clinically relevant models of neurological disease.
Despite the role of aging in development of neurological and neurodegenerative diseases, the effects of age are often disregarded in experimental design of preclinical studies. Functional assessment increases the clinical relevance of animal models of neurological disease and adds value beyond traditional histological measures. However, the relationship between age and functional impairment has not been systematically assessed through a battery of functional tests. ⋯ This study demonstrates clear differences between naive young adult and older animals, which may have implications in functional assessment for preclinical models of neurological disease.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Sep 2012
Case ReportsSuccessful treatment with azathioprine of relapsing Rosai-Dorfman disease of the central nervous system.
Rosai-Dorfman disease (RDD) is a rare non-Langerhans histiocytosis that usually presents with lymphadenopathy. Although isolated involvement of the CNS was considered to be uncommon, numerous cases have been reported in recent years. For RDD of the CNS, the treatment consists, in general, of surgery. ⋯ Computed tomography and FDG-PET demonstrated that the RDD involved no other site, but the presence of ileitis, noted on ileoscopy, led to the diagnosis of Crohn disease. Treatment with the purine analog azathioprine was initiated, leading to an objective and sustained response in both the RDD tumor and ileitis over 35 months of follow-up. This case report highlights the potential use of a purine analog in cases of relapsing RDD of the CNS and a possible common defect of macrophage regulation in RDD, Crohn disease, and Q fever.