Journal of neurosurgery
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Journal of neurosurgery · Jan 2022
Wall enhancement in unruptured posterior communicating aneurysms with oculomotor nerve palsy on magnetic resonance vessel wall imaging.
Recent MR vessel wall imaging studies of unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIAs) have revealed that aneurysm wall enhancement (AWE) can be an indicator for aneurysm evolution; however, the degree of AWE among different types of evolving UIAs has yet to be clarified. The authors assessed the degree of AWE in unruptured posterior communicating artery (PcomA) aneurysms with oculomotor nerve palsy (ONP), which may be a subgroup of evolving UIAs with rapid enlargement and high rupture risk. ⋯ AWE was stronger in evolving PcomA aneurysms with ONP than in those without ONP, suggesting the potential utility of AWE for risk stratification in evolving UIAs. The degree of AWE can be a promising indicator of a rupture-prone UIA, which can be useful information for the decision-making process in the treatment of UIAs.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Jan 2022
Complications associated with early cranioplasty for patients with traumatic brain injury: a 25-year single-center analysis.
Cranioplasty is a technically simple procedure, although one with potentially high rates of complications. The ideal timing of cranioplasty should minimize the risk of complications, but research investigating cranioplasty timing and risk of complications has generated diverse findings. Previous studies have included mixed populations of patients undergoing cranioplasty following decompression for traumatic, vascular, and other cerebral insults, making results challenging to interpret. The objective of the current study was to examine rates of complications associated with cranioplasty, specifically for patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) receiving this procedure at the authors' high-volume level 1 trauma center over a 25-year time period. ⋯ In this cohort of patients with TBI, early cranioplasty, including ultra-early procedures, was not associated with higher rates of complications. Early cranioplasty may confer benefits such as shorter or fewer hospitalizations, decreased financial burden, and overall improved recovery, and should be considered based on patient-specific factors.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Jan 2022
Resection with intraoperative cesium-131 brachytherapy as salvage therapy for recurrent brain tumors.
The authors' objective was to examine the safety and efficacy of salvage intracranial cesium-131 brachytherapy in combination with resection of recurrent brain tumors. ⋯ Cesium-131 brachytherapy resulted in good local control and acceptable rates of symptomatic AREs and surgical complications in this heavily pretreated cohort, and it may be a reasonable salvage adjuvant treatment for this patient population.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Jan 2022
Cingulum bundle connectivity in treatment-refractory compared to treatment-responsive patients with bipolar disorder and healthy controls: a tractography and surgical targeting analysis.
The clinical response of patients with bipolar disorder to medical treatment is variable. A better understanding of the underlying neural circuitry involved in bipolar treatment responsivity subtypes may provide insight into treatment resistance and aid in identifying an effective surgical target for deep brain stimulation (DBS) specific to the disorder. Despite considerable imaging research related to the disease, a paucity of comparative imaging analyses of treatment responsiveness exists. There are also no DBS targets designed expressly for patients with bipolar disorder. Therefore, the authors analyzed cingulum bundle axonal connectivity in relation to cortico-striatal-thalamo-cortical (CSTC) loops implicated in bipolar disorder across subjects who are responsive to treatment (RSP) and those who are refractory to therapy (REF), compared to healthy controls (HCs). ⋯ Findings demonstrate that bipolar treatment responsivity may be associated with significant differences in cingulum bundle connectivity in relation to CSTC loops, which may help identify a surgical target for bipolar disorder treatment via DBS in the future.