Journal of neurosurgery
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Journal of neurosurgery · Mar 2014
Uncertainty and agreement in the management of unruptured intracranial aneurysms.
The management of unruptured intracranial aneurysms remains controversial. The goal of this study was to evaluate the clinical community agreement in decision making regarding unruptured intracranial aneurysms. ⋯ Individuals do not agree regarding the management of unruptured intracranial aneurysms, even when they share a background in the same specialty, similar capabilities in aneurysm management, or years of practice. If community equipoise is a necessary precondition for trial participation, this study has found sufficient uncertainty and disagreement among clinicians to justify randomized trials.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Mar 2014
An analysis of publication productivity for 1225 academic neurosurgeons and 99 departments in the United States.
Bibliometrics is defined as the study of statistical and mathematical methods used to quantitatively analyze scientific literature. The application of bibliometrics in neurosurgery is in its infancy. The authors calculate a number of publication productivity measures for almost all academic neurosurgeons and departments within the US. ⋯ This study represents the most detailed publication analysis of academic neurosurgeons and their programs to date. The results for the metrics presented should be viewed as benchmarks for comparison purposes. It is our hope that organized neurosurgery will adopt and continue to refine bibliometric profiling of individuals and departments.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Mar 2014
Photobiomodulation inside the brain: a novel method of applying near-infrared light intracranially and its impact on dopaminergic cell survival in MPTP-treated mice.
Previous experimental studies have documented the neuroprotection of damaged or diseased cells after applying, from outside the brain, near-infrared light (NIr) to the brain by using external light-emitting diodes (LEDs) or laser devices. In the present study, the authors describe an effective and reliable surgical method of applying to the brain, from inside the brain, NIr to the brain. They developed a novel internal surgical device that delivers the NIr to brain regions very close to target damaged or diseased cells. They suggest that this device will be useful in applying NIr within the large human brain, particularly if the target cells have a very deep location. ⋯ In summary, the authors showed that NIr can be applied intracranially, does not have toxic side effects, and is neuroprotective.