Journal of neurosurgery
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Journal of neurosurgery · Mar 2020
Characteristics and career outcomes of Neurosurgery Research and Education Foundation research fellowship recipients.
The American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) Neurosurgery Research and Education Foundation (NREF) provides ongoing competitive research fellowships for residents and young investigators. The authors sought to determine the characteristics and career tracks of award recipients. ⋯ The majority of AANS/NREF research award recipients enter academics as fellowship-trained neurosurgeons, with approximately one-third obtaining NIH funding. Analysis of this unique cohort allows for identification of characteristics of academic success.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Mar 2020
Utility of sodium fluorescein for achieving resection targets in glioblastoma: increased gross- or near-total resections and prolonged survival.
It is commonly reported that achieving gross-total resection of contrast-enhancing areas in patients with glioblastoma (GBM) improves overall survival. Efforts to achieve an improved resection have included the use of both imaging and pharmacological adjuvants. The authors sought to investigate the role of sodium fluorescein in improving the rates of gross-total resection of GBM and to assess whether patients undergoing resection with fluorescein have improved survival compared to patients undergoing resection without fluorescein. ⋯ This study is the largest case series to date demonstrating the beneficial effect of utilizing sodium fluorescein as an adjunct in GBM resection. Sodium fluorescein facilitated resection in cases in which it was employed, including dominant-side resections particularly near speech and motor regions. The cohort of patients in which sodium fluorescein was utilized had statistically significantly increased rates of gross- or near-total resection. Additionally, the fluorescein group demonstrated prolonged median survival, although this was not statistically significant. This work demonstrates the promise of an affordable and easy-to-implement strategy for improving rates of total resection of contrast-enhancing areas in patients with GBM.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Mar 2020
CNS inflammation and neurodegeneration: sequelae of peripheral inoculation with spinal cord tissue in rat.
Recent research demonstrates that victims of spinal cord injury (SCI) are at increased risk for dementia and that encephalitis can occur as a consequence of isolated SCI. We theorize that autoimmunity to the central nervous system (CNS) could explain these phenomena and undertook this study to determine whether peripheral inoculation with spinal cord homogenate on 1 or 2 occasions is associated with CNS-directed autoimmunity and neurodegeneration in a rat model. ⋯ The results of these experiments demonstrate that peripheral exposure to spinal cord antigens is associated with CNS-directed autoimmunity and inflammation in the brain and spinal cord as well as degeneration of CNS cells, memory impairment, and production of neurodegenerative proteins particularly when this exposure is repeated. These data support CNS autoimmunity as a candidate mechanism for the dementia that can follow SCI and perhaps other posttraumatic dementias such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy.