Journal of neurosurgery
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Journal of neurosurgery · Feb 2015
ReviewStereotactic radiosurgery for intracranial dural arteriovenous fistulas: a systematic review.
The goal of this study was to evaluate the obliteration rate of intracranial dural arteriovenous fistulas (DAVFs) in patients treated with stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), and to compare obliteration rates between cavernous sinus (CS) and noncavernous sinus (NCS) DAVFs, and between DAVFs with and without cortical venous drainage (CVD). ⋯ Treatment with SRS offers favorable rates of DAVF obliteration with low complication rates. Patients harboring DAVFs that are refractory or not amenable to endovascular or surgical therapy may be safely and effectively treated using SRS.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Feb 2015
Comparative StudyFormal protocol for emergency treatment of ruptured intracranial aneurysms to reduce in-hospital rebleeding and improve clinical outcomes.
While the incidence of a recurrent hemorrhage is highest within 24 hours of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and increases with the severity of the clinical grade, a recurrent hemorrhage can occur anytime after the initial SAH in patients with both good and poor clinical grades. Therefore, the authors adopted a 24-hour-a-day, formal protocol, emergency treatment strategy for patients with ruptured aneurysms to secure the aneurysms as early as possible. The incidences of in-hospital rebleeding and clinical outcomes were investigated and compared with those from previous years when broadly defined early treatment was used (<3 days of SAH). ⋯ Patients with ruptured aneurysms may benefit from a strategy of emergency application of surgical clip placement or endovascular coiling due to the reduced incidence of recurrent bleeding and improved clinical outcomes.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Feb 2015
A treatment paradigm for high-grade brain arteriovenous malformations: volume-staged radiosurgical downgrading followed by microsurgical resection.
The surgical treatment of many large arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) is associated with substantial risks, and many are considered inoperable. Furthermore, AVMs larger than 3 cm in diameter are not usually treated with conventional single-session radiosurgery encompassing the entire AVM volume. Volume-staged stereotactic radiosurgery (VS-SRS) is an option for large AVMs, but it has mixed results. The authors report on a series of patients with high-grade AVMs who underwent multiple VS-SRS sessions with resultant downgrading of the AVMs, followed by resection. ⋯ Volume-staged SRS can downgrade AVMs, transforming high-grade AVMs (initially considered inoperable) into operable AVMs with acceptable surgical risks. This treatment paradigm offers an alternative to conservative observation for young patients with unruptured AVMs and long life expectancy, where the risk of hemorrhage is substantial. Difficult AVMs were cured in 15 patients. Surgical morbidity associated with downgraded AVMs is reduced to that of postradiosurgical/preoperative supplemented Spetzler-Martin grades, not their initial AVM grades.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Feb 2015
ReviewStem cell signature in glioblastoma: therapeutic development for a moving target.
Tumor heterogeneity of adult high-grade glioma (HGG) is recognized in 3 major subtypes based on core gene signatures. However, the molecular signatures and clinical implications of glioma stem cells (GSCs) in individual HGG subtypes remain poorly characterized. Recently genome-wide transcriptional analysis identified two mutually exclusive GSC subtypes with distinct dysregulated signaling and metabolic pathways. ⋯ Metabolic reprogramming in MES GSCs has also been noticed with the prominent activation of the glycolytic pathway, comprising aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) family genes. This review summarizes recent progress in the characterization of the molecular signature in distinct HGG and GSC subtypes and plasticity between different GSC subtypes as well as between GSCs and non-GSCs in HGG tumors. Clinical implications of the translational GSC research are also discussed.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Feb 2015
Historical ArticleFixed and dilated: the history of a classic pupil abnormality.
The aim of this study was to investigate the development of ideas about the nature and mechanism of the fixed dilated pupil, paying particular attention to experimental conditions and clinical observations in the 19th century. Starting from Kocher's standard review in 1901, the authors studied German, English, and French texts for historical information. Medical and neurological textbooks from the 19th and 20th centuries were reviewed to investigate when and how this information percolated through neurological and neurosurgical practices. ⋯ The key observation of a fixed dilated pupil as a sign of acute mass effect came gradually and after some localization stumbles. Following the period of extensive experimental research in ICP, the results of which were translated to clinical observations, the prognostic significance was gradually acknowledged by authors of neurological textbooks. It is well known that Cushing did similar experiments in Berne (1900-1901), and later suggested he would not have done so if he had studied the literature.